My Sweet Escape
by ausllyxaustinally
Summary: After an awful fight that happened between Austin and Ally due to untold secrets, Austin and Ally have ended their partnership and friendship. Now, a year and a half later, Austin and Ally are both huge pop sensations and haven't spoken since their friendship-ending fight. But what happens when Austin and Ally are forced to work together?
1. Chapter 1

**Summary: After an awful fight that happened between Austin and Ally due to untold secrets, Austin and Ally have ended their partnership and friendship. Now, a year and a half later, Austin and Ally are both huge pop sensations and haven't spoken since their friendship-ending fight. But what happens when Austin and Ally are forced to work together? Will they rekindle their friendship and make up on their lost time? Can they trust each other again? Even better - Can they get along?**

**[Idea originally thought up from Austin & Ally : Reel Life & Real Life]**

Chapter 1

"It can't be that bad," my best friend, Trish, said to me over the phone. I was struggling not to let my anger slice through my tone.

"We haven't spoken in almost a year and a half." I pointed out. "He probably still hates me," I grumbled. I was trying to get to my car, but the flashing lights were making it an effort. Paparazzi greeted me and asked me questions. Can't they tell I'm on the phone?!

"I think he does," Trish added, she clued in on my silence and quickly said, "but then again, what would I know?!" her voice wobbled nervously before she sighed. "Look, Ally, to be totally honest with you, I don't know what's going to happen. They want an Austin & Ally album and you two are going to have to work together whether you like it or not."

I sighed, already aggravated with the thought of seeing his face. His arrogant face. His deceiving face. His lying face. His backstabbing face. His-

"Ally, It won't be that bad." Trish said, "maybe we could hit Sonic Boom again in the practice room. Bring up the good ol' days, yeah?" she supplied, trying to make the situation brighter.

I snorted in disbelief. "Right, like Austin Moon and Ally Dawson are going to walk through the mall like normal kids." I shook my head. "It's not like that anymore, Trish. We can't just walk down memory lane and act as if none of it ever happened. Something changed between Austin and I that day. He hates me. I hate him. We both made a big mistake, but that doesn't take away from the fact that our friendship fell apart." I hesitated before quickly adding, "and the fact that if Miami found out Austin Moon and Ally Dawson were in the same mall, at the same time, at the same store, would cause a meltdown." I didn't hear anything. "Trish? You still there?"

"Well, this is awkward." she mumbled. I frowned at the traffic lights ahead in confusion. "Um, so, you're saying you won't go to the mall?"

"You set up our meeting place in Sonic Boom, didn't you?" I asked her, a flat tone echoing in my voice. I heard a small 'mhm'. I sighed.

"It's alright! I'll change it! The beach? No, fans would be everywhere! Park? No, too many animals and crying babies. Austin's place? No, there's no way he'd let you in there. Your place? No, that's too far and I don't have a car and God forbid I'm jumping into a car with Dez. How about-"

I sighed in defeat, "You know what, let's just...let's just meet up at Sonic Boom like you've already planned."

"Great!" she grinned. "I've missed you so much, Ally!"

"You saw me last week." I deadpanned. I shook my head. "I'll be there tomorrow. I'm almost at the airport." I told her. She squealed in excitement and I heard the line go dead. I sighed, hanging up the phone.

A lot happened between Austin and I. It all started when my two friends, Trish and Dez decided they wanted to make a Movie about the journey between us, Austin & Ally. It sounded like such a great idea, until both of our secrets were spilled out and wrecked our friendship forever! Anyways, point is, Austin and I haven't spoken in a year and a half, I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous. I mean, Austin and I had a lot of chemistry and two secrets just threw it all away. I won't lie about this either: it hurt not seeing him anymore. But why wouldn't it? He became my best friend - and a little more than that, too. But that's in the past. I haven't spoken to Austin, I haven't seen him, heck, I've hardly thought about it. Just every once in a blue moon when I hear his song on the radio.

To drown out my thoughts of Austin and the anxiety that was bubbling in my guts, I decided to pop in a CD of my favourite iPod playlist and I listened to my favourite songs the entire way to the airport.

I was lost in my thoughts when I felt arms around my waist. Ready to smack my attacker, I raised my fist before seeing the spiral curls on the short figure. Immediately, I recognized my "attacker" to be my best friend.

"Trish," I gasped with relief. She giggled.

"Like you said we saw each other last week, but that's still a long time for me and you. To be honest, I'm still used to seeing you everyday like old times," her brown eyes drooped slightly and I felt guilt tug at my heartstrings. I shut off the feeling when it became too much - I mean, it wasn't like I wanted to leave, I had to. I was signed to Romone Records and one thing led to another and soon enough, I was taking off to L.A., due to immediately being transformed into a huge star. Apparently, writing your own music and performing it is a big deal in the Hollywood life. (I don't like to admit this, but secretly, I also left because seeing Austin around all the time started to get to me.)

"Ally!" I heard an enthusiastic shout. I didn't even need to decipher where the voice came from to know who it was. Dez.

"Hey, Dez," my pink stained lips curled upwards. "Believe it or not...I missed you." Trish sent me a disgusted look as if missing somebody like Dez was a crime. Still carrying around his backpack, Dez pulled out a candy bouquet.

"Just for you." he said. I took it in my hands and looked at him.

Sheepishly, I said, "Thanks." Trish rolled her eyes at his gift giving.

"Let's move, " Trish said, grabbing my suitcase helpfully. (Which surprised me, by the way). I shocked myself when I almost looked for Austin before remembering our on-going feud. I guess I wasn't totally use to being in Miami without Austin. We sort of did everything together, like friends should. My memories with him were short-lived when I reminisced the moment I discovered he'd met with another song-writer. My blood began to boil, but when I realized Dez was talking with me, I let my anger go.

For now.

I was staying with Trish for the time being. My Dad had moved into an apartment when I left. It only had one bedroom so Trish offered to make room for me at her place. Dez and Trish were eager to get to the mall, but my stomach was twisting at the thought of going back. At seeing him. Though, Trish did mention that the mall is closed due to mine and Austin's troubled reunion. That relaxed me slightly, knowing I wouldn't have to deal with questions from not only Paparazzi, but from fans also.

"You're being ridiculous, Ally," Trish said, from beside me in the backseat.

"I didn't even say anything," I stated.

"But you were thinking it!" Trish declared, "I know things between you and Austin ended on a bad note but this is your chance to...patch things up."

"If that's possible," I grumbled under my breath, playing with a loose string on my cardigan.

Dumbly, Dez added, "I don't know, maybe Austin and Ally will hate each other forever and never work things out."

"Dez!" scowled Trish. He glanced at the two of us in the rear-view mirror and slumped his shoulders unconfidently. Trish shook her head and sent me an assuring look, "Don't worry. I'm sure things will be okay between you two. After all, you are the reason he even got famous in the first place, if it wasn't for you, he'd just be a wannabe."

Well, that boosted my confidence. I decided not to reply. I didn't want to unleash my unshed anger towards Austin just yet. Maybe things could've changed. Maybe we've both grown into mature, professional musicians. No hard feelings - just strictly work.

But when I walked through the doors of Sonic Boom and I saw Austin's face, I definitely knew things would not be strictly work. And by the look in his eyes, there _were_ hard feelings.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

[Ally]

If I was still seventeen and immature, I would've snubbed Austin and walked right past him, but I wasn't seventeen anymore; I was a mature, nineteen year old woman. I proved that to Austin when I walked right up to him, holding out my hand, squaring out my shoulders, and keeping my head held high, "Austin," I greeted, but there was a clip in my voice. Okay, so maybe I'm not as mature about this as I expected to be.

Austin was hesitant before he finally settled his palm into mine and shaking it firmly. His grip was tighter than necessary; I could literally feel the anger inside of his hand. "Ally," his smile was fake.

The tension around us was violent. I was sure that any moment the two of us were going to lose it and start ripping each other's heads off, but then Trish started to talk which I was thankful for.

"Well," she let out, her tone just above an awkward state, "Now that you two have..._reunited, _maybe we can all sit down and..." she trailed off, pondering her thoughts.

I think this is the moment she's realized there's nothing the four of us could really do that would be as sentimental as it was from two years ago; things have changed in tremendous ways. I've turned into a thriving new star with millions of fans and Austin's career is still going strong like it always was and he's got millions of fans, point is: We can't go anywhere without being surrounded _especially _when two of the world's newest and greatest stars are hanging out together. That would sure kick the media and make everyone and everything go crazy.

"Go to the arcade!" Dez suggested thoughtfully and Austin immediately liked that idea as he high-fived his best friend. Trish and I looked at the two boys would incredulity.

"We're not going to the arcade," Trish made her opinion known.

"Arcade's are boring," I blurted.

"You're boring," Austin insulted. I laughed sarcastically at him.

"Are we really going to do this?" I questioned him, raising a perfectly trimmed, quizzical brow. He stepped closer to me. _Did he seriously get even taller?! _

"I guess so," he countered, "But you were always boring, now that I think about it. Always sucking the life out of people or stealing away their joy, instead we all had to cloud-watch or do homework, or," his eyes grew wide with fake excitement as he said with a high voice, "Yay! Study date!"

I squinted my eyes, my brown orbs shooting daggers at him with just one look. "And like I remember it, you quite liked that," I felt my lips curve into a knowing smirk. His eyes iced over with coldness and resentment towards me.

"And I was blind," he spat back.

"You know, I would reply to that statement, but you're just really not worth any of my time," I barked back, slyly. _And with the look on his face, it's looking like I just won that round. _

Trish cleared her throat to get our attention back. Austin and I looked at her and composed ourselves. "How about a movie? My place?" Trish questioned quickly before Austin and I could snap at each other anymore.

I glanced at Austin hatefully while he glared back at me. I turned to Trish and nodded, "Fine with me." She grinned, relieved that I at least agreed to something.

"Sounds like a plan," Austin grumbled, annoyance in his voice.

We all managed to avoid fans and paparazzi on the way to Trish's place. I was so grateful that it was slightly rainy outside. I really wasn't in any mood to answer any rising questions from the media. I knew they'd dig for a greater answer than just: _'We're working on an Album together'._

_[PAGE BREAK]_

"Could you at least try to pretend you don't hate him?" Trish growled at me under her breath when we'd gone into her kitchen to whip up some snacks. I sighed and looked at her.

"I'm trying, but he's making it hard," I defended myself, "I came in with confidence and maturity and then he just glared and it got to me."

Trish sighs, "Well, you did hurt him."

I gawked at her. "Ex_cuse me?!" _

Trish stared at me, rather scared, "Well, you said you thought he was a _one-hit wonder, _I guess it scarred him because he thought the world of you."

"I thought that when we were fifteen!" I snapped at her, keeping my voice low so the boys couldn't hear us, "he met up with a new song writer _while_ we had _chemistry!" _The acid slipped through my lips. I heard the popcorn beep and I tore it out of the microwave and ignored the way it burned my finger tips when I held it. "Don't think, for one minute, Trish, that this is on me. I _thought_ wrong at fifteen and he _did_ wrong at seventeen. He knew very well that I would never leave him, I loved writing with him with everything in my heart. _He _gave up on _me." _

I was surprised when those words left my mouth, but I didn't show it. Trish stared back at me. "You both did wrong, can we leave it at that?" she asked me, softly. I studied her face for a moment before nodding.

"Yeah...I guess that's all we can accept for now. What happened, happened, we can't change it. We both made mistakes and we're making up the consequences," I replied. She didn't say anything, only followed me into her living room where Dez and Austin were talking lowly before Dez caught sight of us and they conversation immediately deflated. I guessed it was the same conversation that Trish was having with me.

[PAGE BREAK]

We were watching Taken, but I couldn't focus. Austin was sitting across the room and I could feel his hateful glare burning into my flesh. Every now and then I'd meet his eyes and shoot him a dirty look, then he would roll his eyes and turn away. I mimicked my ex-best friend; rolling my eyes and turning away. My thoughts were wandering until they pulled me into a flashback.

_"I can't trust you, now can I?" I spat with venom stinging my words. Austin didn't even bother to play out a good apology, instead he found comfort in rolling his eyes and glaring down at me. I was starting to get nervous with how much he was angering me, I could almost feel something as strong as hate coming on._

_"I can't trust you either, Ally," he replied, his arms crossed. "I never know what you're saying behind my back exactly." _

_"I was fifteen," I snapped at him. _

_"Doesn't matter," he shot back at me, "You still said it and I can never know whether you're going to say something awful about me again. One hit wonder? You really thought that low of me? Do you still think that low of me?" _

_Out of anger, I exclaimed, "As a matter of fact, I do!" I didn't even mean it, but it just came out, there was nothing I could do about it now as I watched the hurt in his gaze slowly drift into a state of anger. "You can't even write your own songs. I'm constantly having to compose music with you just so you can actually thrive in your dream! Without me, you really were a one hit wonder."_

I grimaced and forced myself out of the memory. How awful of me to say something so vile. I've forgiven myself by constantly repeating that none of it was true, but that didn't take away from the fact that I still said it and he obviously thought I meant it. I always went into denial by telling myself that he hurt me, too. He met with a songwriter while we were still working together, we had feelings and he wanted to just leave me in the dust. With that thought, my blood started to boil again.

I scrubbed my fingers through my hair and tried to focus on the movie. It was of no avail so I focused down at the paper in my lap and scribbled down lyrics that were pulsing in my mind.

_Isn't it funny how many times we can say,_

_We drawn the line, cross it out, turn the page,_

_And moved on_

_That's what we thought_

_But here I am in the same old car,_

_Having myself another same old brown-eyed bar_

_Uh oh, uh oh,_

_I won't tell nobody_

_I won't tell my friends_

_We'll just drive down this road till the one we're on ends_

_And we'll tell each other things like I need you_

_You and me_

_Baby this is what we do_

_I may see_

_There are people you just come back to_

_So fall back on me_

_Fall back on you_

_You always let someone come in between_

_Your talking round the truth and never say what we mean_

_Look at all this wasted time_

_I won't tell nobody_

_I won't tell my friend_

_We'll just drive down this road and pray it doesn't end_

_And we'll tell each other things, like I love you_

_You and me_

_Baby this is what we do_

_I may see_

_There are people who you come back to_

_So fall back on me,_

_Fall back on you_

_Maybe we'll last_

_Maybe we won't_

_Maybe we'll stop talking and I'll haunt you like a ghost_

_But just, baby, get along with me_

_You and me_

_Baby this is what we do_

_I may see_

_There are people that you come back too_

_Fall back on me_

_Baby I'll fall back on you_

_Fall back on me baby,_

_Baby I'll fall back on you_

_Fall back on you_

_Fall back on you_

I stopped writing and then began to read it over, tapping my pen to a beat in my head. I didn't know where that came from and I denied it was about Austin, so I settled in the thought that it was just random words that didn't mean anything. I ignored the little voice inside that told me every time I write a song it always means _something _and it's always about _someone. _

When I looked up from the paper after I'd re-read the mysterious lyrics numerous times, my gaze rested into two brown eyes staring back at me. I felt my palms get hot. How long had he been staring? I ignored my racing heart and swallowed old feelings. Austin quickly turned his head away when coming to the realization that I'd caught him staring. I shook my head and attempted to focus on the movie one more time.

[PAGE BREAK]

"Did you even watch the movie?" Trish quizzed me, accusingly.

"Yeah," I breathed.

"Really now? Because every time I looked over, you were staring at Austin or scribbling words down onto that paper and thumping your pen to a pretty cool rhythm," she replied while she scrubbed make up from her face.

I gave her a look, "I was not staring at him, he kept staring at me and it was getting on my nerves."

"Mhm," she hummed, unconvinced. I rolled my eyes and pulled out the half-crumpled paper from my back pocket and managed to push her accusatory voice to the back of my mind while I pulled my guitar out from its case. "Are you even listening?" she glowered at me when I finally zoned back in to look at her.

"Nope," I giggled, her mouth gapped slightly before she crossed her arms, sending me a darker look. "If you'll excuse me, I've got things to do." I tried not to giggle again as I waved my paper with newly written lyrics at her. I clutched my guitar and pulled myself away into the guest room where I composed music for my new song.

It was another hour before I was fully finished writing all the music notes and jotting down little tips on the side of my paper. Trish's voice was muffled from the other side of the door as she shouted, "Oh, my gosh! Is that about Austin?"

"No!" I growled, but the stressed look on my face faded when I heard her echoing laughter and then a small compliment on the song. I shook my head and set my guitar on the floor. The tips of my fingers were aching from holding down the strings, but I've grown used to it. I lay back on the soft, white comforter. I stared up at the ceiling, feeling satisfied with my song but also feeling dread for tomorrow when I'd have to sit with Austin _alone _for the first time since our friendship-ending fight and write a new song with him. Plus, many after that and then record them.

I groaned at the thought of what this was going to do. We'll have to have interviews together, duets(obviously), concerts. Why did our record labels think this was such a splendid idea?

The little voice in my head said, _Because it is. Two international pop-stars writing an album together and collaborating music, it's the whole package deal. _I muffled that agreement by plugging in my iPod and blasting The Lumineers until it drowned out all my thoughts.

**This was probably long and boring...I'm sorry, but it was just a filler to get the story going. I was trying to drift into how much Austin and Ally's friendship has fallen apart.**

**Some people were confused a bit...? So, the idea for this Fic came from the episode Real Life & Reel Life obviously from Austin and Ally. Anyway, so basically Austin and Ally got angry at each other from untold secrets (refer to episode) I just made it out that they never made up and instead had an even bigger fight causing them to end their friendship and partnership and they have not spoken for about a year and a half. **

**Here's some minor information to clear everything: Ally is now internationally famous, she's become a huge inspiration and superstar. Austin is still famous as well, he's got a new songwriter. Ally did happen to leave Miami to go to L.A. Trish and Dez are still friends with both Austin and Ally. **

**If you're confused on what's going on as of right now, I'm going to explain that right now, too: Austin and Ally's record labels wanted Austin and Ally to collaborate an album thus causing Ally to come back to Miami so they could write and record an album together. **

**P.S: I feel like my writing is really boring. I'm just worried that I might jump into the story too fast, but anyways, this Chapter was super boring due to it being a filler. I'm sorry about that, I'll try to speed things up and make it more interesting! **


	3. Chapter 3

[Third Person's POV]

Austin was nervous. _The _Austin Moon was _nervous! _He didn't want to be nor did he know why - Okay, so he knew _exactly_ why. He was anxious about working with Ally again. Things would be different. They're not friends anymore, they've become more like strangers than anything else. Dez hadn't made it any better for him, constantly chiming in to remember that Ally was incredibly famous now - Austin was even sure that Ally had gotten more famous than him. But he couldn't find it in him to be angry or jealous about that, he couldn't help but feel happy for her. She worked hard to be where she is today and he respected that, no matter how much he was upset with her.

Austin found himself on YouTube, researching videos of Ally. He watched silly videos of her just hanging with her friends, videos of her performing, videos of her just simply playing the acoustic guitar and singing one of her unreleased songs, videos of her playing the piano, videos of her receiving awards, etc. He convinced himself that he was trying to know what to expect when he sits down to write with her again, but the small voice at the back of his mind was shouting at him that he just missed being a part of her life. He argued with the voice, claiming that he just wanted to be prepared for everything that could go down, but there was a piece of him that was upset about missing everything. After all, he worked hard to help her reach her dreams and she finally did it and he wasn't there to see; he missed it.

Mimi Moon, Austin's mother, suddenly burst through his door. "Austin, it's-" she stopped when she saw him quickly pausing the video of what looked to be Ally singing a gentle song to a small crowd of kids, her body sitting on a stool with a bright smile on her face as she cradled an acoustic guitar in her arms. Mimi cocked an eye brow at her son, tilting her head slightly with a small smile on her lips, "What are you doing?"

"No-Nothing," he stammered, feeling distraught from being caught in the acts of researching his ex-best friend. Mimi knew him better and didn't believe him.

"Do you miss her?" she asked gently, already knowing the answer. Austin sent her a sour look and shook his head, his eyes reading into denial.

"Why would I miss Ally? She wasn't even important," he spat out bitterly. Mimi begged to differ but decided it was best to leave the topic alone.

"Great lie," she commented before quickly saying, "It's time for you to go to bed. I don't want you to be tired for your first session with Ally."

"I'm nineteen," Austin defended himself, "I don't need my mother telling me when to go to bed," he grumbled, still reeling over his embarrassment as he stared at the frozen picture of Ally on his computer screen.

"Then you might as well be old enough to get out of my house," Mimi replied swiftly. _Shots fired!, _a voice said at the back of Austin's mind. Austin wiped the smug look off his face and closed his laptop.

"Yes, Mom," he obeyed. Mimi grinned victoriously and said her goodnight as she shut the door. Austin shook his head, grumbling under his breath as he turned out his light and prepared himself for his writing session with Ally. _He was so dreading this._

_[PAGE BREAK]_

Ally gasped as she sat up, glancing towards the look. "Quarter to ten?" she questioned aloud to no one in particular. Ally's eyes grew wide as she realized she had fifteen minutes to get to Sonic Boom. Oh, how bittersweet is this day.

Ally leaped out of bed, only to stub her toe against her guitar and listened to a musical echo emitted from the instrument. She cringed and held her toe. She turned around speedily only to hit her hip on the bed frame and flip herself over it and onto her back with a thud.

The bedroom door opened loudly, "What's going on?" Trish shrieked before her gaze fell to Ally's groaning figure. "Ally, you're on the floor. Why are you on the floor?" she quizzed, raising a skeptical brow. Ally groaned in response. "You better hurry up, you've got fifteen minutes."

"Why didn't you wake me?" Ally grunted as she picked herself up off the floor, pressing her palm against a growing bruise.

"I figured you were nineteen years old and could wake yourself up," Trish admitted. Ally glared at her. "You better hurry!" With that, she left the room. Ally groaned. She turned around and found herself slipping on music sheets and she fell to the floor once again with a yelp.

[PAGE BREAK]

Austin was playing random notes on the piano as he waited for Ally's arrival. He glanced at the clock and he was just about to criticize her for being late when she suddenly walked through the door.

"Sorry!" she apologized, not even noticing the dark look on his face. "I woke up late, I don't usually do that kind of thing, I'm always on time. I hope it didn't bother you. I swear, it won't happen again. I won't be one of those people, because I work with a lot of those people and they suck, because you need-"

"Ally," Austin barked and she quit babbling and looked him in the eyes. "It's fine," he said, biting back a chuckle. She nodded once and sat in a chair across from him, keeping her distance. Austin's eyes fell down to the space on the piano bench that he'd subconsciously made room for, imagining she'd sit there. That's when he reminded himself of their feud.

"So," she let out, gulping down a nervous lump in her throat. "How are we going to do this?" she questioned. She was slightly frustrated. Generally, she can immediately put herself into a working zone and not focus on everything else but work, but Austin was here and for some reason it was different. She couldn't push away reality and focus on the work that needed to be done, she felt reality slapping her across the face with a strong palm. That was when a voice echoed in her mind, _When had writing music become work? _Ally pushed the voice away when quickly reminding her inner voice that writing _was _work when it was with Austin.

Austin felt nearly intimidated. Ally was now a huge musician and still an insanely talented songwriter, he was nervous to mention anything stupid. Before he could fully slip into a state of insecurity, he said, "What should the album be about?"

Ignoring the lump in her throat that reality had created, Ally immediately emerged herself into thought. "I'm not sure," Ally admitted, "I don't normally think of a subject to write about. I usually write my songs and find the meaning behind a bunch of songs together and then realize the subject. From there, I sort out which songs should go on the album."

Austin wasn't going to allow himself to be intrigued with the way she mesmerizingly worked. He bit out, "Yeah, well this isn't just your album. We're not going to do everything the way you want it to be done."

Anger pulsing through Ally's veins, she glowered at him, "You asked for a topic and I gave you an answer. If you're so great at this, why don't you tell me a topic?" Ally stopped herself from spitting out an insult at him. She knew that it would just lead to disaster and it was better to stray away from anger.

"I think we should write about life's complications," Austin suddenly blurted. Ally's mouth opened to turn him down when she finally let his words sink in. She wanted to deny it, but she couldn't, it was a _great _idea. She closed her mouth and stared at him for a second. Austin stared back at her with nonchalance, but deep inside he could feel his stomach twisting as he anticipated what she would say.

Quietly, she replied, "Okay." Austin's eyes grew semi larger, surprised that she liked the simple idea. "That's perfect actually," she said, her mind blubbing up with ideas as she jotted down notes in her songbook. "We could write about disappointments, love, jealousy, excitement, confusion, oh, maybe even some _miscommunications_." Austin stared at her when she mentioned it, for some reason he felt like that would be hard to write about, but she didn't and so he decided to just go with the flow and let her take the lead. She always knew more about writing than he did.

"Alright, so now what?" he quizzed, watching her as she wrote inside her _very private _book.

Ally slowly looked up at him. For the first time, she actually _didn't know. _Ally kept her confidence built up so he wouldn't know exactly what she was thinking. "Um, I guess we could start working on a melody."

Austin nodded, turning around to face the piano keys. He moved over for her to sit down. Ally was hesitant before she took the seat next to him, she was starting to feel awkward but chose to mildly ignore the feeling. She messed with piano keys. Austin joined in. The melody was awful; Ally was going for lower notes, a more slow and intense mood, meanwhile Austin was tapping higher notes, digesting a rapid, upbeat mood.

Ally peeled her hands away from the piano. "This isn't working," she blurted, "the melody doesn't even piece together!"

"Well, that's not my fault! You're the one who keeps going for the lower notes. The songs need to be upbeat and enjoyable. Not sounding like somebody just found a dead puppy," Austin replied, a sour node in his voice.

"It's life's complications that you want, Austin," Ally barked at him, "Life isn't upbeat and go-lucky all the time. Life is serious, crazy, and bad things tend to happen. I'm pretty sure if someone were to be feeling lost they wouldn't want to dance to a beat. They want to wallow."

"Wallow?" he gave her a sour look, "No, that's what _you _do. People want something that lifts their spirits."

"People want something to _relate _to." Ally argued. The two began to bicker the tune of the melody and for a moment, it felt like they were right back to where they started that day when they were fifteen. After a long argument, Ally spoke up, her voice lifting slightly so he would finally stop talking and listen, "You said you wanted this album to be about life's complications. Obviously we have different versions of what that means."

"This isn't just your album, Ally!" Austin finally exclaimed, "It's mine, too! We have to work _together, _not by what you think is accurate, I have to believe it's accurate, too!"

"Fine, you know what? You pick the stupid melody!" Ally caved, she got up from the bench and collected her songbook, "I'll write the words and then we'll put it together!" Ally meant for decision to be slightly stubborn just to make him angry, but instead they both quietened and realized that her response was quite logical.

"Okay," Austin said, contently. Although Ally's response made sense, she was still angry. She's the one who writes her music, so what does he know? Austin kept playing around with keys and Ally was fidgeting; she _did not _like the tune.

"Austin, maybe-"

"-I've got the tune," he interjected, leaving no place for Ally to argue with him. Ally grunted angrily and muttered something under her breath before she got up from the chair she was sitting in.

"Fine, work on that stupid tune, I'm leaving." She finalized.

"Leaving?" he looked at her. Ally rolled her eyes, pushing back a strand of hair that fell out of her ponytail.

"I'll be back later," she grumbled, grabbing her bag and leaving the practice room. Ally clenched her fists while Austin purposely played the piano semi louder just to bother her.

_[PAGE BREAK]_

"Trish, it's like we don't even understand each other anymore," Ally ranted, her cell phone pressed to her ears with her best friend comforting her on the other line.

"Well, obviously," Trish said, bluntly. "You guys haven't spoken in a year and a half. Of course things changed."

"You don't understand," Ally argued, "Austin and I always struggled to understand each other, but music was the one thing where we just understood _everything _and now we don't even have that."

"Relax, Ally," Trish soothed, "I'm sure you two will find a way to get your music to work together. Look, I've got to go. I'm sorry. But I'm sure you'll figure it out, you always do." Ally listened to her best friend hang up the phone, causing her to sigh and hang up as well.

Ally stared down at her blank page. She groaned, smacking her forehead onto her paper. She lifted her head, scrubbing her fingers through her hair, clearly frustrated. Ally was thinking hard when she suddenly gasped as a couple words went through her mind, and then more, and more, and more. Soon enough, she found herself scribbling down a bunch of lyrics, completing a song.

_I find myself at your door,_

_Just like all those times before,_

_I'm not sure how I got there,_

_All roads—they lead me here._

_I imagine you are home,_

_In your room, all alone,_

_And you open your eyes into mine,_

_And everything feels better,_

_And right before your eyes,_

_I'm breaking, no past_

_No reasons why,_

_Just you and me._

_This is the last time I'm asking you this,_

_Put my name at the top of your list,_

_This is the last time I'm asking you why,_

_You break my heart in the blink of an eye, eye, eye._

_You find yourself at my door,_

_Just like all those times before,_

_You wear your best apology,_

_But I was there to watch you leave,_

_And all the times I let you in,_

_Just for you to go again,_

_Disappear when you come back,_

_Everything is better._

_and right before your eyes,_

_I'm aching, no past_

_Nowhere to hide,_

_Just you and me..._

_This is the last time I'm asking you this,_

_Put my name at the top of your list,_

_This is the last time I'm asking you why,_

_You break my heart in the blink of an eye, eye, eye..._

_This is the last time you tell me I've got it wrong,_

_This is the last time I say it's been you all along,_

_This is the last time I let you in my door,_

_This is the last time, I won't hurt you anymore._

_Oh, oh, oh,_

_This is the last time I'm asking you this,_

_Put my name at the top of your list,_

_This is the last time I'm asking you why,_

_You break my heart in the blink of an eye._

_[x4] This is the last time I'm asking you,_

_Last time I'm asking you,_

_Last time I'm asking you this..._

All tossed her pencil down and read over her lyrics. She felt satisfied with her work and found herself leaping out of her chair and bolting. She needed to put music to it!

_[PAGE BREAK]_

Austin was groaning. He shouldn't of let Ally leave. He had nothing for the tune. He thought he had something, but well, it was Austin, so the something turned out to be nothing. He was lying on his back on the floor, staring at the ceiling in the Practice Room when suddenly the door flew open and a frantic Ally stumbled in the room and stood over the piano.

Austin got up swiftly. "Ally?" he called, but she made no response as she threw her songbook on top of the piano and her fingers immediately found the correct keys, as if she'd already known the melody.

Her voice matched the piano pitch beautifully. "You find yourself at my door, just like all those times before, I'm not sure how I got here, all roads - they lead me here," she sang out, softly. Austin stared in enchantment. He always wondered how she did that, how she could just find words and then automatically know a tune. _No wonder she was famous_, Austin thought, _she's the real thing. The real talent._

He listened intently as she went on, memorizing the piano notes as he watched her fingers glide across the keys. He waited for her to finish and watched as she bit down on her bottom lip and excitedly whispered, "Got it."

"Is that one of the songs for the album?" he wondered out loud. Ally turned back at him, startled. She'd forgot he was here. She cleared her throat, nodding and turning back to the piano.

"Yup," she said, forcing herself out of awe. It had been a while since she wrote something that deep. "I was thinking it could be a duet," she paused, "between me and you."

Austin stared at her back before nodding. "Yeah. Ok." Austin slowly stood beside her and put his fingers on a couple keys, playing along in a different tone that enhanced the melody that Ally was playing. Ally nodded her head, enjoying the sound. Austin looked at her songbook and they both began to sing the song, every now and then stopping to make adjustments before resuming. The Practice Room was peaceful, no arguments, no rude words or insults, no shouting, just the sound of piano keys and two beautiful voices tying together in a perfect rhythm.

**/ / /**

**Comment?**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

[Ally]

"It's good to have you back," my Dad said with a sincere voice that made me glance up at him from my plate of spaghetti. I felt the corners of my lips curl into a soft smile as I nodded.

"I'm glad to be back," I replied, but he raises his eye brows at me.

"What's with the tone?" he questioned, a hint of amusement glowing in his gaze. I felt my cheeks grow hot with embarrassment and apology.

"Sorry, Dad," I quickly apologized, "I am glad to be back," I assured him.

"It's Austin, isn't it?" he quizzed, "Are you two still not getting along?"

"Why do you sound so surprised?" I grumbled, picking at the meatball on my dish.

"Well, I just assumed you two would have gotten over this. It's quite petty, if you ask me. You and Austin got through so much and you just tossed it into the garbage can and never looked back. It came as a shock when I first heard about it - Come to think of it, it still shocks me," he elaborates.

"Austin met with another writer, despite how great things were going between us - I mean, between our partnership." I bit into a meatball, avoiding his eyes but just his very air sent a vibe that told me he didn't buy that all of this was about our _"partnership"._

"Maybe he wanted to give you a chance to be your own person," Dad provided, "He could have figured that he was holding you back."

"Or he was insecure that I was going to ditch him-"

"-And then you did," Dad deadpanned with a nonchalant voice as he shoved a forkful of noodles in his mouth, sauce dripping on his chin.

"I did not ditch him!" I gasped.

He grabs a napkin and dabs his chin, cleaning the mess that had dribbled there. "Well, you did refuse to work things out and instead took off on that plane to L.A. and left all of us."

I gave him a look, "I did not leave you."

"Felt like it," he dramatically choked and I responded with a stifled laugh and throwing a napkin at him. Dad gave me a half-hearted smile. "I'm proud of you."

"What?" I looked at him, the sudden giddiness dropping and being replaced with a serious air.

He smiles more fully. "I'm proud of you." he repeated. I stared at him. My Dad and I were always close but he never told me that before. Not even when I got 5/5 on my very first spelling test in first grade. "You proved me wrong, Ally, and I admire that. I knew you were a smart and talented girl, but I never thought you'd actually make it. You were a small girl, working at a music store in Miami, I never thought you'd actually make it to L.A and become such an inspirational musician. You make me proud. You're an honorable daughter, Ally."

I felt tears prick my eyes, but I blinked them away subtly. "Thanks, Dad," my voice was softer.

"Any time," his gaze falls down towards his almost-finished meal as he scrapes his knife and fork along the plate and shoving food into his mouth. He swallows and adds, "I know you're here to do some work with Austin, but I was wondering if you wouldn't mind performing at Sonic Boom tomorrow night. I started having Entertainment Night's every now and again and I figured you'd be a special treat for the customer's."

After what he'd told me, I was more than glad to do something nice for him. "Definitely," I grinned. "I'll be there."

"Great," he smiles back at me and then we settle into a calm conversation about the weather while we finish our dinner.

_[PAGE BREAK]_

The Practice Room was silent besides the sound of Austin's fingers strumming the guitar. We didn't ever talk. Our sessions were more awkward than anything else. Austin would throw his things down on the chair and then head to a piano or fetch a guitar, meanwhile I'd lay on the floor, writing lyrics. No words ever spoken, just work and a lot of avoidance.

My eyes were staring down at the blank page that lay before me when suddenly Austin's fingers hit a particular set of notes and then suddenly: _I used to think one day we'd tell the story of us, how we met and the sparks flew instantly and people would say they're the lucky ones._

My eyes grew bigger, "Stop," I suddenly blurted, "play that again."

"What?" he looked at me, confusion evident on his face.

"Play that again," I urged, impatiently. He hesitantly played the set of notes again and quickly I scribbled down a set of lyrics. "Keep going," I commanded and when he did: _I used to know my place was the spot next to you / now I'm searching the room for an empty seat / 'cause lately I don't even know what page you're on. / A simple complication, miscommunications / lead to fall out / so many things that I wish you knew / so many walls up I can't break through._

I could feel his eyes burning onto me as I scribbled down the words viciously with each chord he played. My thoughts were running so fast, my hand could hardly keep up. Suddenly, I was singing aloud with the music as I spilled the lyrics onto the paper, "_Now I'm standing along in a crowded room and we're not speaking/ and I'm dying to know if it's killing you like it's killing me, yeah / I don't know what to say since a twist of fate when it all broke down / and the story of us looks a lot like a tragedy now." _

"That...That sounds good," Austin suddenly let out when I stopped singing to focus on continuing to write down the lyrics I'd just vocalized. I glanced at him for a mere second, a small smile daring to tug on my lips but it never got the chance when I refocused my gaze to the words I was writing. "Keep going," he said softly, suddenly strumming the melody again. It took me a moment but words poured into my thoughts once again.

"_How'd we end up this way? / You see me nervously pulling at my clothes and trying to look busy / and you're doing your best to avoid me/ I'm starting to think one day we'll tell the story of us / how I was losing my mind when I saw you here / and you held your pride / like you should have held me,_" I scribbled down the lyrics as I sang, "_Oh, I'm scared to see the ending / why are we pretending / that this nothing / I'd tell you I miss you but I don't know how / I've never heard silence quite this loud_." I stopped singing and stared down at the words, when suddenly a smile came to my face and I nodded in satisfaction. "Great, this is good, then we can go into the chorus again," I told him and I went into the chorus, singing it out loud once more.

It took me a moment of nail biting and thought pondering but finally the third verse came to me, "_This is looking like a contest / of who can act like they care less / but I liked it better when you were on my side / the battle's in your hands now / but I would lay my armor down / if you'd say you'd rather love than fight / so many things that you wish I knew / but the story of us might be ending soon." _When I was finished scribbling down those lyrics, I went into the chorus again, right until I reached where I wanted the song to end.

"That was great!" Austin and I shouted in unison with enthusiasm. Austin and I went over the song, him strumming the guitar and me singing aloud to him. We made small adjustments to the chords and the vocalization of a few words, but soon enough we decided the song was perfect and we hugged. _Hugged. _

Suddenly, we froze. I pulled away and stared at my still open arms and then at him, I repeated this routine a few times before I let out, "Uh..." Austin swallowed hard and awkwardly scratched his neck. "Great work," I said, letting my voice seep into a nonchalant mode.

"It was alright," Austin shrugged, but him and I both know that we were both equally excited about this song - so far it seemed to be our favourite. That or the fact that the song was written so fast it blew our minds.

I cleared my throat, trying to get rid of the awkward lump that had swelled there. "I'm, uh, I'm going to go back to Trish's and, uh, get ready for tonight. I'm, um, my Dad wants me to perform for his, uh, entertainment night." Before the tension could fall any further between the two of us, I shut my songbook and glanced at him for another second before leaving the Practice Room.

_[ PAGE BREAK ]_

My Dad gave me a thumbs up, standing behind the counter. I grinned at him and took my seat on the stool where I got wild cheers and a loud applause. The word had spread that I was going to be playing for Sonic Boom's Entertainment Night which had caused a huge crowd to gather in the store, thus making a happy store owner A.K.A. my Dad, because business was a success for tonight.

I glanced down at Trish who stood at the front of the stage with an encouraging smile, Dez stood next to her, a camera in hand. Like usual. I looked around for some unexplained reason but when my eyes landed on the blonde boy leaning against the wall near the back I knew that he was who I was looking for. I almost choked in shock. I didn't think Austin would come to watch. My cheeks almost heat up, but I refused to allow them when I refocused onto the crowd.

"Hi," I said sweetly into the microphone and letting out a small giggle. It didn't matter how many times I performed, I couldn't shake my shy quality, I learned to accept it instead. I heard a couple "woot's" from the crowd. "I'm Ally," I continued, my lips curling into a shy smile and I heard a few chuckles in the crowd that had gathered. I don't know why I'm so surprised that the crowd was so large, but I still was. "I was...I was thinking about playing a new song for you," the crowd seemed to approve of the idea as they clapped loudly making my grin widen. "I wrote this when I was looking back on a good memory." I gently strummed the guitar that I cradled in my arms, testing the sound, "Anyways, this is about a boy I really liked and he liked me, too. It's about how I felt during that period of time. This is called Say Anything."

"_If I could say anything, anything what would it be?_

_A good question for our destined reality_

_I would tell you that I love you_

_Even when it didn't show._

_I would tell you that I love you, baby,_

_By now I hope you know._

_If you could go anywhere, anywhere what would you see?_

_Take a step in any direction, it's make believe_

_If your mind is always moving_

_It's hard to get your heart up off the ground_

_Yeah, your mind was always moving_

_But your thoughts never made a sound_

_And we won't break if we let go._

_You and I already know_

_We were bound to be set free eventually._

_So, here we are now_

_You can say anything_

_If I could have it go any way, any way it'd go like this_

_Take it back to a couple years yesterday to our first kiss_

_In that moment I loved you,_

_This isn't how I ever saw it going down._

_In that moment I loved you,_

_I wish I knew then what I know now._

_We won't break if we let go._

_You and I already know_

_We were bound to be set free eventually._

_So, here we are now_

_You can say anything_

_You can say anything_

_You should you listen to your heart_

_(you should listen to you your heart)_

_It's gonna tell you what you need_

_(it's gonna tell you what you need)_

_Take care of yourself_

_(take care of yourself)_

_And don't you worry about me_

_(don't you worry about me)_

_You should you listen to your heart_

_(you should listen to you your heart)_

_It's gonna tell you what you need_

_(it's gonna tell you what you need)_

_Take care of yourself_

_(take care of yourself)_

_And don't you worry about me_

_(don't you worry about me)_

_We won't break if we let go._

_You and I already know_

_We were bound to be set free eventually._

_Well, here we are now_

_You can say anything [x4]_

_Always say anything_."

I grinned towards the wooting crowd. For a quick moment, I thought I saw Austin clapping with a small grin on his face, but when I took a second glance, he was still leaning against the wall, looking bored and his arms were crossed. I turned my gaze towards Trish who was clapping louder than anyone in the room, I'm sure. I tried not to laugh at my Dad who was wiping away proud tears that rolled down his cheeks. He was a crier.

"Thank you," I giggled into the microphone.

"One more song," the crowd chanted endlessly. I looked at them, semi surprised.

"Come on, Ally, one more song!" Trish suddenly bellowed and the crowd ruptured with agreement that I needed to play another song.

"Okay," I finally agreed, watching the crowd high five each other. I giggled once more. "Um, how about a song that goes kinda like this..." I let my fingers strongly strum the chords, as I sang into the microphone, "_Friday night beneath the stars / in a field behind your yard / you and I are painting pictures in the sky / Sometimes we don't say a thing / just listen to the crickets sing / Everything I need is right here by my side / and I know everything about you / I don't want to live without you!" _I grinned at the crowd who sang along to my familiar song as I went into the chorus. My eyes met Austin's every now and then and I could see his arms twitching, as if he wanted to join in with the clapping but he never did. For some reason, it bothered me, but then I focused on the crowd and forgot about the boy whom I had a conflict with.

The rest of the night went great. I played a couple more songs due to my fans demands until finally people grew tired and decided to leave the store. I took off my guitar and a frantic Trish ran up to me.

"That was great, Ally! Another awesome performance!" she hugged me tightly with pride. I looked over her shoulder and saw Austin on his phone, texting. I grieved the fact that he didn't encourage me like he used to. If this was back when we were still partners, he would have been the first to run to me and tell me what a great job I did. I would be lying if I said I didn't miss that.

"Dez, let's go," he suddenly shouted to his best friend who was standing next to me. Dez waved at him for a quick second and looking at me.

"Great show, Ally. I recorded it," he gave a thumbs up and then walked away towards Austin. I watched them both leave and I saw Austin cast a glance over his shoulder towards me. For a split second, I could've sworn his eyes read something sweet, like he was happy for me, but then he turned his head and I could hear him laughing with Dez. It struck me once, or perhaps twice: _I missed his laugh. _

**Comment?**


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"So, is ignoring me a thing now?" I confronted, shuffling my feet as I avoided looking at the blonde boy who'd jumped, unaware of my presence having entered the room.

"I-uh-Ally, I didn't know you came in," he was suddenly scrambling papers and trying to hide them, but he knew his defeat and decided to cover the sheets of paper with his palms.

"You didn't answer my question," I pressed, finally feeling a spark of maturity ignite within me as I looked into his brown eyes. He shook his head.

"Ignoring you? Why would I ignore you?" he questioned.

"You tell me," I countered.

"I haven't been ignoring you," he assured me. I knew I would get no where with my accusations (although they were true, he _was _ignoring me) so I dropped them and instead decided to hen peck him about something else.

"What's this?" I questioned, a smirk curling on my lips as I reached for a sheet of paper.

"No!" he shouted, snatching all of the papers and sliding them off the piano. They scattered along the floor. He kicked and swiped his feet at the papers, not caring if he'd even ripped some.

"Austin Monica-"

He firmly and distractedly interrupted, "Don't call me by my full name, only my friends can do that."

If his goal was to catch me off guard with his statement, he succeeded. I froze in place as I looked at him to see if he was kidding around, but he wouldn't look in my eyes but I know he felt how tense the air grew.

I shook off his bluntness and grabbed a paper. He tried to grab it from me but I twisted my body and walked the other way. My eyes grazed along the paper before I turned around and looked at him, a smile curling on my lips. "Austin, are you trying to write lyrics?"

He sighed in defeat, "I lucked out once, I thought I could do it again."

I stared at him for a second, before my eyes roamed the page again. "I like your effort," I nodded. Austin looked at me alarmed.

"What? No insults, mockery, judgment?" he quizzed me, raising a brow.

"Thought you'd know me better than that, Austin," I scolded him, but my tone was teasing. He didn't even go for a smile, not even slightly. "I'm glad you're trying."

"No, you're not," he replied, sulking.

"How would you know?" I countered, "Unless you've grown an ability to read minds while I was away?" He rolled his eyes at me, snatching the paper.

"I wasn't finished with it. I don't know how you can just write a whole bunch of lyrics in fifteen minutes, it doesn't make sense." Austin said, picking up every fallen sheet that was on the floor.

"That's only happened a couple of wild times," I informed him, "Sometimes it takes me two days, depends on the song. Don't give up."

"Let's face it, Ally, I'm never gonna be able to write songs the way you can. I can't beat you," he said. I felt the smile that was on my lips slowly fade. I swallowed thickly, taking a step back as I folded my arms.

"I didn't know we were having a competition," I smiled tightly, wondering if he saw the anger that was blazing fiery inferno in my gaze. He stopped what he was doing and looked at me. He didn't say anything, he just went back to collecting the papers and shoving them carelessly inside my bag. _Why would he do that? Now they'll just get crumpled! _The perfectionist side of me screamed, but I kept my mouth shut.

It turns out, I'm not very good at keeping my mouth shut. "Is that really what this was about?"

"What are you talking about, Ally?" Austin sighed, wearily.

"I'm talking about this," I gestured to around me. I didn't even know what I was talking about myself. "I mean, you've been ignoring me since Entertainment Night at Sonic Boom and then suddenly you're writing lyrics and going on about beating me as if there is some sort of rivalry happening here." Austin didn't reply, heck, he didn't even glance at me. "Didn't know you were so jealous."

"I'm not jealous," he barked at me, looking as if I'd just slapped him across the face. Might as well have, considering his ruthless behavior.

"Then what are you doing?" I questioned him, gesturing towards his bag where the unfinished _horrible _songs were written. When he didn't respond, I continued, "Look, I didn't come here to fight or start some sort of rivalry between us, I'm here to write an album and then get the hell out of here, and if that's not good enough for you, I don't know what is," I snapped, my veins pulsing with boiling blood.

I turned around, the twist so fast that wind carried through my hair. I was on my way out, when Austin suddenly blurted, "I'm not jealous, we're not in competition, and I know you're only here to write a stupid album." I glanced over my shoulder at him. "Let's write a song right now, get it over with it. The faster, the better."

He talked as if I was a waste of time, like he had something better to do. To spite him, I smirked and softly said: "No." Then I walked off, my heels clicking against the floor.

_[PAGE BREAK]_

_And I stare at the phone,_

_He still hasn't called_

_And then you feel so low you can't feel nothing at all_

_And you flashback to when he said forever and always_

_Oh, and it rains in your bedroom_

_Everything is wrong_

_It rains when you're here and it rains when you're gone_

_'Cause I was there when you said forever and always_

My pen was snatched from my hand. "Do you mind?" my demanding best friend reprimanded, sending me a look. That's when I remembered she was in the middle of talking about her fight with Dez before I rudely tuned her out to write lyrics.

"Sorry," I grimaced. "You were saying?"

"When did I lose you?" she moaned at me.

I giggled slightly embarrassed, "Um...Right after he drank your smoothie?"

"Ally!" she howled at me, "That's the whole point of the story! You weren't listening at all?" I gave her a shrug and apologetic look. She sighed and shoved a fry inside her mouth. "Why do I bother?" she mumbled.

"I'm sorry, Trish," I let sincerity hang loosely in my voice, "It's just Austin and I need songs and I want to get them done faster."

"I'm fine with that, but stop tuning me out every time I try to talk to you," I was surprised when her tone was suddenly angry. I felt really bad.

"Sorry, sorry," I said, closing my notebook with my pen inside and sliding it towards her instead. "I'll listen."

"Will you?" she questioned. She shook her head. "It doesn't matter, I need to get back to work." she slipped into her work vest and didn't cast me a last glance as she walked away. I was about to call out, but she was too far already so I let my deep breath end in a sigh.

"Having troubles?"

That voice. I know that voice. Where have I heard it before? I turned my head and there stood an attractive looking Dallas.

"Dallas?" I gawked, "Hi. What are you doing here? Well, I guess you live here, that was a stupid question."

"Hey, look who's forming sentences," he teased, flashing an award-winning smile but as I saw it I realized it didn't win my heart over - not anymore, not the way it used to.

I forced laughter, "Yeah, I remember those stuttering days. That girl is long gone."

"That's too bad, I thought it was cute," he told me, taking a seat. He went to grab the notebook, but I snatched it away. He lifted his hands in defense. "Whoa."

"Sorry," I grimaced, "Confidential." He laughed at me.

"You've...grown," he said, his eyes grazing my body. I felt uncomfortable but I didn't say anything, I only smiled.

"Yeah...Age does that to ya," I joked with a fake giggle. I cleared my throat. It sounded far too fake. I need to work on that.

"So, how've you been?" he questioned me, looking so happy to see me. I didn't know why because we never had a thing, so it's not like there was anything to look back on besides the days when I'd walk by the cell phone accessory cart more than necessary to get his attention. It never happened though. Not until now.

"I've been good," I smiled, giving off a small laugh. I felt mildly awkward, but he looked comfortable.

"Can I say I already knew that, _Miss World-Wide_," he grinned at me. I smiled slightly.

"Right, ha-ha," I said. This was not enjoyable, but I'd take it over sitting lonely at this beach table. "So, what brings you over here?"

"I, uh, I saw you leave Sonic Boom. Thought I'd come chat," his grin only got wider and my awkwardness only grew bigger. I left Sonic Boom and met Trish. We sat here for about twenty minutes before she actually left. That means... _Dallas followed me here, watched me with Trish, and then walked over to talk to me. Should I hire a body guard? _

"Oh!" I said, too much enthusiasm in my voice than I'd have liked. He nodded.

"What do you say I take you out tomorrow night?" he asked hopefully.

"Tomorrow?" My mouth gapped open. "Dallas, I don't mean to be rude, but we hardly know each other."

"Isn't that the point of going out somewhere? To talk and get to know each other?" he questioned.

"Well...Yeah...But-"

"Then I'm picking you up at 7! Thanks, Ally!" Then he bolted. I stared at his disappearing figure longingly, _But I never said yes...! _My mind echoed. Welp, guess I'm gonna have to sleep on it.

I grabbed my notebook and stared at the lyrics. I sighed, rubbing my face and closed the book. I wasn't even feeling these words anymore. _Way to go, Dallas. _

_[PAGE BREAK]_

"Dallas? You mean kind-eyed Dallas?" Trish asked me, staring at me with wide eyes. It seems Trish wasn't all that mad, she got over it because soon enough it was eight P.M. and she called me to come home (A.K.A her place) and hang out.

"Ugh, yes," I grumbled.

Trish failed to see my misery, "I'm happy for you! This is what you've always wanted!"

"No!" I blurted, staring at her in disbelief, "I've always wanted my name written in the stars, not being asked out by a fraud!"

Trish glanced at me. "Since when was Dallas a fraud?"

"Since he never noticed me until I was _Miss World-Wide," _I shuddered slightly. Trish didn't understand my quote but I shook it off and didn't bother explaining.

"So, you feel that he is using you?"

I jumped at the sound of Dez's voice as he walked lazily into the living room. "Holy-" I grabbed my chest where my heart was, attempting to calm the fast thumping. "Dez, what the heck?!"

"Trish invited me. Did you tell her, Trish? She doesn't look like she knows," he said, jumping onto the couch and slinging an arm around her shoulder.

"No, Dez. No, I did not tell her," Trish said, slowly looking down. I studied the two of them. Direct body contact, he is touching her shoulder and she's not even squirming! They're not...

"Dez, Trish, please don't tell me-"

"Look, things change, people change, _feelings _change," Trish started.

"We're getting married." Dez said bluntly. My eyes enlarged but I felt my nerves calm when Trish grabbed a pillow and smacked him in the stomach with it. "Ow!"

"So, you're not-"

"_Going out? _Yes. Married? Definite no." Trish confirmed. I leapt up from the couch, suddenly feeling like my throat was running dry and my lungs were being squeezed.

"Wow," I breathed deeply, "Ok. Didn't see that one. Like, ever." I scrubbed my fingers through my hair. "I'm, uh, I think I need some air."

The new _couple _nodded and as I started walking away I heard their faint voices. "_Way to go, Dez, now she's never gonna talk to us again." "These things take time." "Are you sure? Because I think you just destroyed my best friend." "Moments pass." _

I couldn't help myself from giving out a light chuckle at the conversation. I never would have thought. I stepped outside onto the balcony and let the fresh air flow into my lungs. I took deep breaths and leaned over the railing. The city lights were beautiful, burning into my mind. I missed Miami. L.A is nice, but Miami is home. I turned around and looked at the view inside. They were actually laughing together, _laughing, _I know I'm scared, too.

_"I wish we were like that," Austin looked at me longingly after we stared at Trish and Dez. I agreed but I didn't have time to be sentimental about it because Austin suddenly grabbed my head. "Brain suck!" he tried to copy them but I smacked his hand away. He gave me an apologetic look and soft smile. I shook my head._

I shook my head at the small memory that I had forgotten about until now. That's when I found myself still staring at them. If I had never left, would Austin and I have worked it out? Would we be like them right now? Speaking of Austin, I wonder what he's doing. Austin and I are in a huge conflict, but ever since I got here, I started thinking about him again. It's driving me nuts. I've almost thought about calling him, but I never do. The almost always turns into a never. Sighing, I turned back to look at the view.

And it was just looking out at the skyline that suddenly had lyrics pulsing in my brain. I dug around in my pockets and found an unused napkin (only God knows why I put an unused napkin there) and I was lucky enough to find a pen on a small table, probably left there by Trish. She usually comes out here to do her calligraphy.

Frantically, I scribble down the words. "_I bet this time of night you're still up/ I bet you're tired from a long, hard week/ I bet you're sitting in your chair by the window looking out at the city/ I bet sometimes you wonder about me._

"_And I just wanna tell you/ it takes everything in me not to call you/ And I wish I could run to you/ and I hope you know every time I don't / i almost do/ i almost do." _

"Ally?" Trish said, poking her head outside. "We won't be weird, I promise. Come on in." she said, "it's getting cold. It's going to rain."

"Right. Okay. I think I've gotten enough air anyways," I smiled at her, shoving what I'd just written into my pocket and walking inside with her. Trish kept her promise, her and Dez weren't at all weird. In fact, I admired their relationship, they didn't change at all. They still fought like they hated each other and they teased each other a lot, smacked each other, the only thing I noticed was different was the look in their eyes. I wondered why Austin and I couldn't have been like that, why did we change? Why did we think we had to change to be a couple? Wait. I'm not really looking back on this, am I? We were seventeen for crying out loud! I shook my head and focused on our game of Monopoly.

_[PAGE BREAK]_

"Did you know?" I thundered, glaring at Austin. He rose his eye brows and looked at me questioningly.

"Did I know what?" he focused on throwing together some chords on his guitar.

"Don't play stupid! About Trish and Dez!" I exclaimed.

"What about them?" he questioned again. My jaw dropped. The nerve he has.

"Their relationship! What else?!" I threw my hands in the air.

"Ally, Did you sleep last night?" he asked, his words were slightly muffled due to him holding his guitar pick in his mouth as he kept his undivided attention on his guitar.

"What? Yes! Yes I did! But Trish and Dez...They...I can't believe it..." I shook my head, my voice breathless from shock. My whole body was tolling from the affects so I decided to lay flat on my back and stare at the ceiling. I felt Austin's eyes on me. I glanced over at him and saw his questioning gaze. "They didn't..." I gasped, sitting upright suddenly, ignoring my head rush. "They didn't tell you!"

He took his guitar pick from his mouth and strummed a chord. "Tell me what?" Oh my gosh, he really didn't know.

"Trish and Dez are dating!"

Laughter. All I heard was laughter. "Good one, Ally," he said, shaking his head. "Now, come on, show me that song."

"No. No, Austin, I'm serious. I can't believe they didn't tell you. They told me last night. They're dating. Dating. I know, I couldn't believe it either." I babbled on about last night and Austin stared at me.

"You're serious?" he quizzed.

"Very."

"They're dating?" he asked again.

"Gaaah," I grunted in frustration, "Yes, Austin, pay attention!"

"Wow."

"You're taking this well." I told him, looking scared. "What is wrong with you?"

"Well, I've had some time to think about this-"

"-You've had two minutes."

"Same thing."

"No, it's not-"

"I mean, I'm shocked but they did have a connection over the summer. We all went on a road trip. It was fun and they sort of argued a lot but they did seem kind of different near the end of the trip. It must've happened then." He shrugged and went back to focusing on his guitar. _Trip? _Oh. Right. The trip I wasn't invited to. The trip they took Austin on instead of me.

"So, you noticed their differences?" I questioned.

"Well, Yeah." he nodded.

"But at the airport...they didn't seem different," I said, frowning in concentration as I focused on my memory.

"Well, it's hit and miss, I guess," he shrugged. "You wouldn't know. You haven't been here." And just like that, he wrecked the only time we were actually talking like we were still friends. He didn't notice though, because he looked at me and asked, "How about this?" he strummed. I was mad that it was perfect, because I wanted to be rude to him again for wrecking a small moment between us.

"I like that," I finally blurted. He got used to the sound and the chords and then I sang him the song, to which he enjoyed and we did the norm - adjustments, lyrical changes, etc.

He strummed his guitar, singing the chorus as I watched him. That was when I realized it.

_He got more attractive. _


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"I don't like it," Austin voices out, his eyes running along the song I'd written before giving me a pointed look. My mouth parts slightly, my thoughts gathering a bundle of shock.

"You don't _what?!" _

Austin always likes my songs. Except for that one time when we were fifteen, but that's not the point! "I don't like the song," he repeats, having a nonchalant air vibrating around him as he sat on the piano bench.

"Why?" I asked him, my mouth still gapped open, "What's wrong with it?"

"It's your song, that's what's wrong with it." he informs me. I arch my eye brows.

"So, now you have a thing against my writing?" I questioned him, ghastly. He chuckled slightly and shook his head, that calmed me slightly.

"No, no, your writing is fine," he assured me, "but this song is totally off topic."

"You said life's complications, love is a complication. What's wrong with it?" There was an irritated note in my voice. My patience was running low.

"Well, it's too...I don't know, but it doesn't fit with our album. It sounds like something you'd write on your own album." he finally elaborates. I frowned. I was really fond of this song. I re-read the lyrics, I bit my cheek.

"How about this one?" I reached into my bag and handed him a finished song, music notes and everything. He looked at me, his eyes enlarging with shock.

"Well, you work fast," he mumbles under his breath but I still heard him. He shakes his head. "How about we just write songs together? That way I can direct you to how I want the song to sound."

"_Direct _me?!" My blood started to boil. He nodded. "You can't direct me to do anything! It's music! You told me to write and I did!"

"And we agreed I was to do the music notes!"

"You didn't have a problem with me writing music notes on The Last Time!" I argued, "You can't just tell me you don't like the song because you didn't write the music to it," I folded my arms, getting quite furious now.

"That's not why I don't like it," he replied, "I don't like the context. It's too...it's too much Ally Dawson and not enough Austin AND Ally."

I felt immaturity seep low into my belly, "Why can't it be _Ally_ and Austin?" I heard him let out a low, irritated growl.

"Because it's _Austin_ and Ally!" he snapped. "That's the name of the album, there, said and done. You can't change it. Now we're going to write a new song _together _and we're both going to like it. We're not using those songs. If you like them so much keep them as your own, but they are _not _going on the album."

"Why do you get to make the decisions?" I questioned, clenching my fists.

"I've been famous longer, I know what I'm doing." His conceit was really starting to make my skin itch.

"I've been writing longer," I bit back. He rolled his eyes at me and shook his head. "Why can't you just let this one on the album?" I questioned, gesturing to the second song. "I liked that one."

"Like I said, if you like it so much, put it on your own album not this one." His tone sounded final and I felt that an argument would be unnecessary - Who am I kidding? There's _already _an argument.

"Ugh," I grunted miserably. I thought I saw his lips twitch into a victorious smirk but when I glanced at him again, his lips were straight. I grabbed my dignity and turned around.

"Where are you going?" he questioned suddenly, "we have work to do!"

"Work can wait!" Never thought I'd say that. "I have a _date!_" The words spilled from my lips before I could stop myself. Date? Oh, right, the one that I didn't actually _agree_ to. Oh well, it was a good way to blow off steam.

I glanced back at him and saw his stunned face. "A date?"

Rolling my eyes, I ground my teeth. "Yes, Austin. A date."

"With who?" he asked, seemingly unconvinced. I wanted to throttle him now.

"Dallas," I grumbled.

"Dallas?!" his lips twitched as if he was about to burst into laughter.

"What's so funny?" I questioned him.

"You're still after him?" he inquired quizzically. I didn't want to mention that I didn't exactly agree to the date so I nodded.

"Is there a problem?" I rose a perfectly trimmed eye brow. He shook his head, but his quiet laughter echoed in my head. Why was it so hilarious to him?

"That's really pathetic," he suddenly blurted. I think I felt something tug on my heart but before I could agree that it was hurt, I rolled my eyes at him.

"Not as pathetic as your career," I spat, immaturely.

"You need to get better at come backs," he cackled. Finally done with him, I clenched my fists until my finger nails dug in my palms and marched off. I think he shouted a cocky insult to my "date", but anger was pulsing through my veins so loudly that I didn't hear a word.

_[PAGE BREAK]_

_Testing, testing, I'm just suggesting,_

_You and I might not be the best thing,_

_Exit, exit, somehow I guessed it right, right,_

_But I still want you, want you,_

_Don't mean to taunt you, If you leave now,_

_I'll come back and haunt you,_

_You'll remember, return to sender now, now_

"Ally? Ally, you alright?"

I forced myself to finally look up at the voice who was talking way too much. I saw him staring back at me, his full attention on my apathetic attitude. "Hm? Yeah, Yeah I'm fine. Um, Sorry," I took my napkin that now had words scrawled all over it in a messy manner and stuck it on my lap, ignoring the words that were still running through my mind. See, if this was Austin, I would have had no problem writing a song in front of him, because he knows better than to disrupt me when I have a song in mind. In fact, he never minded when I'd write a song wherever and whenever.

"Is that a song?" Dallas suddenly questioned excitedly. I swallowed hard and pursed my lips.

"Yes, Sorry. Won't happen again. How rude of me." I replied.

"No, no!" his voice rose in pitch, "It's fine. By all means, write your music. I don't mind. Really." I stared at him for a little longer than necessary. He continued, "I think it's cool that you write your own music, ya know? You writing about me?"

_Are you kidding me? _"Alright, don't think too much of yourself," I teased him, making sure there was a light smile on my face. He grinned back at me. Little did he know I wasn't kidding.

"Well, are you going to continue? I don't mind," he assured him, sinking back into his seat with a smile on his face. Shouldn't his cheeks be aching by now from all that smiling?

"No, I'll finish when I get home," I told him, putting a forkful of mashed potatoes in my mouth. He nodded. Before I knew it, Dallas divulged into a story about him and his ex. I pretended to listen as he told explicit details of their fight and how it all ended - he threw in a couple times that it would make a great song if I ever felt inclined to write about it, I only smiled and pretended not to hate his guts right now. I never pictured him to be the shallow type. I was wrong, obviously.

Before he got too far into his next story about how he saved his neighbors cat, I cleared my throat, "Um, Dallas, I'll be back in a moment. I'm not feeling that great."

"Oh, Alright. Can I have the rest of your steak?" he questioned as I got out from our booth. I looked back at him and slowly nodded before grabbing my things and walking to the Ladies Room.

I burst through the door and leaned over the sink, dropping my head. "Holy crap," I grumbled under my breath. My mind was pulsing from all of that babbling he'd done. I took a deep breath and looked up, staring at my reflection in the mirror.

I took a step back and smoothed out the wrinkles on my fancy, black shirt. I picked at a few loose strands of my hair and attempted to find their place somewhere in my messy bun. I was dreading going back. Suddenly, my gaze landed on the open window.

"You're not that kinda of girl, you are _not _that kind of girl," I chanted to myself over and over again. I started to nibble on my bottom lip when I suddenly looked around the bathroom. Empty, perfect. "Just this once," I whispered and crawled carefully onto the sink.

I squatted carefully and leaped over to the window, hooking my arms on the ledge. I gasped as I hoisted myself up and snuck out the window. I looked around at the ground and found the dumpster right next to the window. I stepped onto it and let myself on the ground. I glanced around before I took off down the street.

_[PAGE BREAK]_

I walked through the door and saw Dez and Trish on the floor, playing Go Fish. I stared at them for a moment. That's when Trish saw me and looked at me. "Ally!" Dez then turned around and looked at me. "You're back quick."

"I ditched," I muttered shamefully.

"Ally Dawson!" The couple scolded in unison.

"Please, you have to understand! I was suffocating!" I complained, "he just talked and talked and talked and talked-"

"-Remind you of anyone?"

I looked over and saw Austin coming out of the kitchen, smirking as he sipped his water. I looked back at Trish and Dez for an explanation. "You were out," Trish murmured softly, shrugging her shoulders and avoiding my eyes.

"What are you doing here?" I snapped at the blonde boy as I started taking out the pins and hair bands from my hair, allowing my brown mane to flow at my shoulders in soft waves.

"Last I checked, this was my friend's house, too," he replied stiffly.

"Well, leave," I demanded, pointing at the door.

"No," he argued, "You can leave."

"I'm living here," I glared at him.

"Then I guess we're both at a loss," he countered. I rolled my eyes and didn't bother to reply. I stepped inside my room and shut the door. "Don't pout!" I heard him holler and then I heard Trish scolding him. I ignored both of them.

Reaching into my purse, I pulled out the napkin. The words got a little smeared but I could make them out again. I grabbed loose leaf and scribbled down the words again. I reached to my left and grabbed my guitar.

I got comfortable in my position, cradling the guitar and placing the loose leaf and pen in front of me. I started strumming the guitar, picking out the melody I liked best and writing down the music notes. I added more lyrics until I had completed the second verse and chorus.

"Thought we agreed to write the songs together," I suddenly heard Austin's voice. I stopped playing immediately and looked over at him. I rolled my eyes at him for the one hundredth time that day when I suddenly heard him mutter, "I like that one."

"Oh, do you now?" I barked. He sighed and shut the door.

"Ally, I'm sorry, but the other songs just...didn't sound right for the album," he told me. I looked up at him and saw the look in his eyes. He was not going to be easily persuaded so I let it go. He held out his hand for the guitar but I frowned at him.

"No, this is my guitar," I pouted, gesturing to the guitar's neck which had been personalized with my name written in fancy lettering. I heard soft laughter play from his throat and I pretended not to love the sound of it. He leaned against the wall. When I glanced at him, he motioned for me to go on. "I'm not writing with you standing there eyeing me like a hawk."

"Hasn't bothered you before," he said. Did he just imply that he watches me write?

"Austin," I give him a look.

"Oh, come on, it's not like I'm gonna laugh," he said.

"No, but you criticize and your presence irks me," I told him, staring down at the loose leaf and scribbling down a few new lyrics that popped in my mind.

"I won't even say anything until you're finished," he promised. I glanced at him before shaking my head and then writing again. I felt the bed dip with his weight when he laid down on the bed. For a moment, it felt like old times when he'd come over and just listen to me write songs all night. I shook it off and continued on silently.

"Done," I said, tossing down the pencil after a little more than half an hour. I glanced over at him and saw him already staring up at me.

"Sing it to me," he demanded. I rolled my eyes and nodded. I turned slightly so I was facing him and my fingers found their place and I began to play.

"_Testing, testing, I'm just suggesting_

_You and I might not be the best thing_

_Exit, exit, somehow I guessed it right, right_

_But I still want ya, want ya, don't mean to taunt ya_

_If you leave now, I'll come back and haunt ya_

_You'll remember, return to sender now, now_

_Well I just wish we could go back one more time and begin it_

_Back before I lost myself somewhere, somewhere in it_

_We've been stuck now, so long, we just got the start wrong_

_One more last try, Imma get the ending right_

_You can't stop this, and I must insist_

_That you haven't had enough_

_You haven't had enough_

_Stuck now, so long, we just got the start wrong_

_No more last place, you better get your story straight_

_You can't stop this, and I must insist_

_That you haven't had enough_

_You haven't had enough_

_I still, need ya, need ya, don't mean to tease ya_

_If ya want me, I'll come back and meet ya_

_Whisper, whisper, you must admit you want it_

_You, you want it_

_Well I just wish we could go back one more time and begin it_

_Back before I lost myself somewhere, somewhere in it_

_We've been stuck now, so long, we just got the start wrong_

_One more last try, Imma get the ending right_

_You can't stop this, and I must insist_

_That you haven't had enough_

_You haven't had enough_

_Stuck now, so long, we just got the start wrong_

_No more last place, you better get your story straight_

_You can't stop this, and I must insist_

_That you haven't had enough_

_You haven't had enough_

_Don't you need it?_

_Don't you want this at all?_

_(Testing, testing, I'm just suggesting)_

_Don't you need it?_

_Don't you want this at all?_

_(Testing, testing, I'm just suggesting)_

_Stuck now, so long, we just got the start wrong_

_One more last try, Imma get the ending right (You and I)_

_You can't stop this, and I must insist_

_That you haven't had enough (You haven't had enough)_

_That you haven't had enough (You haven't had enough)_

_Stuck now, so long,_

_We just got the start wrong_

_No more last place, (Another place) You better get your story straight_

_You can't stop this (Don't you need it?)_

_And I must insist_

_That you haven't had enough (Don't you want this all)_

_That you haven't had enough_

_Testing, Testing, I'm just suggesting_

_You and I might just be the best thing."_

"That sounded great," he said sincerely.

"Are you sure?" I asked him impatiently, "Because by all means, re-write the music."

He sighed, rolling his eyes, "I'm sorry, is that what you want to hear?"

"That was exactly what I wanted to hear," I replied contently and put my guitar down. "Now get out of my room."

"Ally."

"Kidding," I managed a grin.

"Now, tell me, what was wrong with Dallas?" he asked, his smile teasing.

"He talked a lot. About himself. And he tried to convince me to write a song about him and his ex," I explained and for a moment I thought Austin looked mad but he looked away from me for a moment so I couldn't read into his gaze.

"What a jerk," he mumbled.

"That was to be expected, wasn't it?" I asked him. Austin glances over at me curiously. "You know, people using me because I'm famous now? They want me to write about them."

Austin sat up straight and I think we were about to have a heart-to-heart. "Do you really think that?" he asked, concern hinted in his voice. I avoided eye contact and nodded.

"Well, Yeah. I can't just come back and expect everything to be the same. It'll never be," I replied, honestly. Austin stared at me for some time. That's when I realized what I'd said: _I can't just come back and expect everything to be same._ I cleared my throat and pretended not to notice how much my "words of wisdom" had applied to mine and Austin's relationship.

"Austin, Ally, great song!" I heard Trish from the other side of the door and we both chuckled. "Now come out here and let's act like the happy groupie we're not!" We laughed once more and got up from the bed.

Austin was in front of me as he opened the door. He stopped suddenly and looked at me, "Never be the same?" I looked up at him, "You never know." Then he walked forward, leaving me thinking over what had just happened.

[Trish's POV]

"Don't pout!" Austin shouted towards my best friend who shut the door extra loudly to prove her resentment towards him.

"Austin," I scolded, "leave the poor girl alone." I watched him chuckle as he sipped on his water again and putting it down on the table.

"Would you like to join an intense game of Go Fish?" offered Dez thoughtfully. Austin gave him a look.

"Why would I want to play Go Fish? It's for kids," he replied. Dez gasped melodramatically.

"It is not for kids! Could any kid get a high score of 460 points? I think not!" Dez announced. It fell silent when Austin and I stared at him.

"Don't ever tell anybody that again. Like, ever," I told my red-headed boyfriend, shaking my head. Dez grumbled under his breath but I couldn't catch what he was saying because the muffled sound of a guitar's melody caught our ears.

I watched Austin's head crane towards the sound. The melody switched a couple times before resting on a specific one. I could tell Austin liked the sound because his body language got perkier. "Is she writing _another _song?" Dez grunted.

"Dez!" I un-crossed my legs to kick him. He sent me a dark look. "It's Ally, of course she's going to write a song after a terrible date." Austin looked back at us.

"Does she write every night?" Austin suddenly questioned sounding interested.

"Well, duh, it's Ally," Dez shook his head, "You used to be her closest friend next to Trish, you should know this." Austin sent Dez a look to which he'd missed because he was busy making a decision with his cards.

That's when the beautiful sound of Ally's voice protruded the sound of Dez's out loud thinking. I smirked when Austin's body language changed even more. He'd told me that earlier they had a disagreement on two songs, but now I could tell he liked this song a whole lot better.

Austin seemed hesitant but I watched him finally shuffle towards her door. I grinned at Dez who grinned back at me. Nobody was Team Austin & Ally more than the two of us. The sound of Ally's guitar grew louder when Austin opened the door and let himself into her room.

I waited until the door was closed to blurt out, "Do you think they'll ever realize that they are meant for each other?"

"They didn't see it then, doubt they'd see it now," Dez replied distractedly, "Got any eight's?"

"Go Fish," I replied quickly, "Maybe we should do something. I mean, she seems sad all the time - or lonely. She needs somebody. That somebody should be Austin."

"Well, You've come to the right person," Dez smirked at me, "I happen to be-

"The Love Whisperer, yeah, you've told me before," I interjected, "Do something then!"

"Well, as a professional, I prefer not to get too involved in my clients relationships." Dez responded. "If it's true love, they'll know, they'll find a way, and they'll make it work."

"Hm, for an odd red-headed boy who's had one girlfriend for just a few days, you sure have wisdom." I told him as he smiled proudly. "So, we shouldn't get involved?"

"Oh, we're going to get involved," he smirks widely at me and I return the smirk. "But we're going to make it subtle. They'll never even know we medaled at all."

"Ah, I like your thinking," I fist pounded him, "what do you suggest we do?"

"Well, our two conflicted friends have...well, a conflict...we need to somehow get them to spend endless hours together until they will have no choice but to get along." Dez elaborates.

"But they're already writing an album together, what more could we do?" I questioned my boyfriend.

"Exactly, they're writing music. But what usually happens when you're writing an album together?" he queried sinisterly.

I felt my lips split into a wide grin, "Interviews...Meet & Greets...Photo shoots...!" I listed, "Dez, this is perfect! They'll have no choice but be together! This could work! They'll have to talk about their past at one point!" Dez nodded victoriously.

"We need to start Operation Get Dallas Out of The Way," Dez added.

"Why? He's going no where with Ally. She ditched on the date," I told him, confused.

"Yes, _but, _Ally happens to have a change of heart a lot, right? She could change her mind and decide she's in love with this surfer boy," Dez replied. I dropped my cards and nodded.

"You're right," I said quietly, "What should we do?"

"We'll figure it out tomorrow when our lab-rats aren't in the house," Dez nodded towards the door which was muffling great music.

"Lab rats?" I looked at him oddly. He shrugged. I shook my head. "Whatever. What do you say we spend time with our two best friends? We haven't done that in forever."

"They'll start fighting again," Dez sighed wearily.

"Then let 'em fight! Sooner or later they'll have to man up and grow up." I said. Dez nodded. "Austin, Ally, great song! Now come out here and let's act like the happy groupie we're not!"

"Ready to start medaling?" Dez questioned.

I smirked, "I was born ready!"


	7. Chapter 7

"So why'd you call us in here?" I questioned my Latina best friend who smiled excitedly at both me and Austin.

"Well," she started, glancing at Dez for support as he grinned back at her. _Still weird. _"I decided that as Austin's manager and your ex-manager, I should step in again and so I did and, well," she grinned so wide I thought her face was going to split in half, "Tonight you two have an interview on the Helen Show!"

"That's awesome!" I exclaimed, smiling at Trish. But then reality dawned on me, shining brightly. "Wait, you mean as in together? We'll be interviewed together?" she nodded, "Talking about the album?" she nodded, "and other things?" she nodded for the third time.

"I don't know," Austin finally blurted. I watched her eyes drop their excitement. I instantly felt bad. "I mean, what are we supposed to say?"

"Try the truth, I heard that always works," Dez nodded supportively.

"Like, what? My partner was a backstabber and I hate him forever?" I glanced over at him and I watched his face darken.

"How about my partner is a little brat who thought too highly of herself?" his jaw set angrily.

"Guys," Trish sighed, "Come on."

"I'm not doing it," I spoke in unison with my blonde ex-friend, crossing my arms and looking away from him and I'm sure he was doing this same thing.

"Yes. You. Are." Trish's voice was tagged with demand. When I glanced at her I saw the anger in her eyes. "I got you this interview and we're not cancelling. Sooner or later you two will need to fess up to interviewers and you'll need to face their questions."

"I choose later," I mumbled.

"You're _so _immature!" Austin insulted. I turned to him, gawking.

"_I'm _immature? _You're _immature! You're the one who went behind my back to get a new song writer because you were feeling so insecure about our partnership despite the time I assured you that _nothing_ was going to happen!" I spat.

"I am not immature and I'm definitely _not_ insecure! Who was the one who couldn't even stand in front of a microphone without vomiting?!" he growled at me. There was a pillow next to the chair I was sitting on and I used it to smack him in the stomach.

"That has nothing to do with insecurity!" I lied, "I'm over it now, only immature people bring up the past!"

"Both of you, quiet!" Trish yelled. I nearly jumped out of my own skin and Austin even let out a small shriek.

"Ha, baby," I chortled.

"Dork."

"Jerk."

"Loser."

"Backstabber."

"Geek."

"Man-"

"I said enough!" Where did Trish get that bullhorn? She lowered it, her nose scrunched up in anger. "You _both _need to grow up and deal with life! You are both going to that interview, despite your excuses! There will be no name-calling, squabbles, fights, bickering, and most definitely no kissing!"

"Kissing?" we gawked.

Trish and Dez laughed, high fiving. "Just making sure you two were listening," she smirked. I rolled my eyes. She points at me and growls, "and no eye-rolling!" I almost rolled my eyes again but quickly fought the urge. "Are we clear?" it was silent before she shouted in a bold, domineering voice, "**Are we clear?!" **

"Yes, Ma'am!" Austin and I chorused.

"I'm glad we have come to a truce," she smiled. Austin and I glared. "You two were getting along great last night."

"We weren't getting along," Austin snapped.

"Yes you were," Trish argued, "You two even sat next to each other for the remainder of the evening."

"Uh, no, you got mad at me when I tried to sit on your left side," Ally pointed out.

"Same thing," Trish said, waving her hand dismissively. "Now, what have we gone over?"

Austin and I sighed, as we spoke animatedly in unison, "That we have an interview with Helen tonight. There will be no name-calling, squabbles, fights, bickering, kissing, and no eye-rolling."

"Great!" she grinned.

"Woo hoo," we chorused again, monotone.

**. . . . . . . **

"Does this shirt make my waist look wide?" I questioned Trish, twisting in the mirror to get a better view of my body.

"Did you seriously just ask me that?" she queried. I saw the look on her face and shrugged.

"Had to ask," I mumbled.

"You look fine. You're the thinnest friend I have, you've got nothing to worry about," she told me. I nodded. Trish fixed one of my curl's before smiling at me. "Let's go!"

Trish opened the door and practically pushed me inside the limo. I stumbled inside. These heels hurt my feet. I could already feel my toes blistering. Austin sat by the window, pouting. I rolled my eyes.

"_What _did I say?" Trish growled, catching me in the act. I looked at her.

"Force of habit," I murmured. Trish glared at me and let me know that she was watching me and would personally kick me in the rear-end if I didn't follow her 'Terms and Conditions'.

"Let's roll, Francis!" Trish shouted to the driver and the limo lurched into motion. I sighed, staring out the window. I was clearly unhappy. The only conversation that was echoing in the vehicle was the sound of Trish and Dez bickering about his pants; according to Trish, he embarrassed her when he wore purple pants out in public. He shook away her thoughts and declared that it was only important if he liked what he was wearing and that he would not change for her. Trish gave him a look that made him shrink back into his seat, perhaps questioning his relationship choices.

I felt something touch my hand and when I looked over I saw a piece of paper. I looked at Austin who was glancing at me. I took the paper and looked at it. He had words scrawled messily on the slip of paper.

_Write a song later?_

He insulted me this afternoon and we bickered back and forth, we're forced inside a limo to an interview that we want no part of because of our ever-growing hate for one another and suddenly he wants to write a song?

I must've not been thinking because I nodded at him before I heard Francis announce our arrival. I took a deep breath. I always got a nervous feeling in my gut when I went to interviews, but somehow I always managed to power through them.

There were a lot of camera flashes when we stepped out of the limo followed by a few shouts from people on the streets. Trish boldly led us inside, shooing away the pests that chased us towards the doors. I made sure to smile, wave at them and wish them a nice day before the doors closed. I thought I saw Austin smiling crookedly at me because when I looked at him again, his eyes were averted to ahead of him as he focused on walking down the narrow hallway.

Austin and I were automatically greeted by the Helen Show crew members. They sat us in separate chairs, fixing up our hair and makeup so we looked just right. Helen ran through the basics of what she wanted to talk about, once we agreed she wandered off.

I heard Austin chuckle from beside me, "Do you want me to do all the talking?" he questioned. I arched a brow and then followed his gaze towards my bouncing knee. My face flushed slightly. I forced myself to quit.

"I'll be fine," I assured him. He nodded slowly but looked hardly convinced. It wasn't long after that my knee started bouncing up and down again.

"You might want to get behind the curtain. We're going to start soon," said a man wearing his headset. Austin and I nodded and followed a woman who led us behind the curtain.

We listened to Helen babble enthusiastically to the crowd before announcing our arrivals. I liked hearing the cheer of the crowd, it made me feel more confident somehow but it still never quite shook my anxiety. But standing next to Austin was enough.

_I'm going to pretend I never even mentioned that._

We shook hands with Helen, taking our seats on the couches. "Austin, Ally, hello!" she said with a toothy smile.

Austin was good at starting conversation. That was one thing I could always rely on him for; keeping conversation. He could practically have a conversation with himself if he wanted to. (And I'm sure he does!)

Helen questioned us about the album and we answered thoughtfully with details. Austin mentioned that the labels thought it would be a great mix, to which she agreed that they were right, and I'd commented that we generally enjoyed writing music together and so we didn't see a problem. I practically just lied to everyone but Austin didn't stop me because he can't deny that my response was the best one so far.

"Ally, you've come a long way," Helen managed to giggle about our last visit. I felt my cheeks turn a shade of pink as I laughed and nodded.

"Thank God for that," I replied and received laughter from the crowd plus a comforting look from Austin. I don't think he even meant for it to be comforting, but I felt like it was.

"You write amazing music, by the way," she taps my knee with her finger.

I smile gratefully at her, "Thank you."

"In fact, it's in my car right now," she winked at me and I could only manage a giggle. I was a whole lot happier when the attention was directed towards Austin once again, "and you just released your new album as well. I definitely loved the sound."

"Thanks, Helen," he grinned boyishly, "I liked the change. I didn't want it to be too drastic, so I kept it light and simple."

"Good choice, Wise Boy," she replied with a smile and he chuckled. "How do you two collaborate your music?" she questioned.

We then dived into a subject about how I generally write the lyrics and Austin writes the music, thus creating one part Ally Dawson and another part Austin Moon. We hint to her what the album is about and she seems convinced that we're writing about our relationship troubles, we deny it but I wondered if she was right and we were just in denial.

Neither Austin or I were surprised when she blurted the one question that everyone has been dying to ask since two years ago: "And where does your partnership stand now?"

Austin goes first, "I have a new partner, Craig Jonathan, he's an excellent writer." I think I got jealous for a moment.

"Ally, do you have a new partner?" asked Helen.

I shook my head with a soft smile, I said, "No. I write my music strictly by myself." Helen tells me that I was incredible and I try not to blush, but she quickly goes back in to pry for details about our failed partnership.

"We just decided that we wanted different things," Austin tried.

"My music career was blowing up and things changed," was what I tried.

She didn't take either. "It happened right during the film making of the Austin and Ally movie. Rumor has it that you two got into a bit of a scuffle? Would you mind sharing?"

I got nervous. Was he going to humiliate me and tell everyone what I'd said to him? Austin answered, "We did." He doesn't look at me, not even once. "But that wasn't the reason we ended our partnership." he lied. I felt relief settle in my gut. "Ally needed to go to L.A., and I loved Miami too much to go."

And with that response, Helen dropped the subject and decided to ask questions about how I find inspiration. I gave her little reasons, such as: Past relationships, dreams, fears, feelings, thoughts, etc.

It wasn't long after that when the interview was finally over and we went to commercial. I breathed out, relieved. Helen walked off after saying good bye and I followed Austin off the stage, greeting Dez and Trish who assured us that we did great.

**. . . . . . **

_Look at the stars,_

_Look how they shine for you,_

_And everything you do,_

_Yeah, they were all yellow._

_I came along,_

_I wrote a song for you,_

_And all the things you do,_

_And it was called "Yellow"._

"Actually, I like that," Austin admitted, tapping keys on the piano as he echoed the words I'd written with his flawless vocals. I nodded and scribbled down more words.

_So then I took my turn,_

_Oh what a thing to have done,_

_And it was all yellow._

_Your skin,_

_Oh yeah your skin and bones,_

_Turn into_

_Something beautiful,_

_You know,_

_You know I love you so,_

_You know I love you so._

Austin nodded his head at my words, his fingers finding the right keys. It took some time before I found more words, but when I found them, I scribbled them down, too, tapping my fingers on piano keys as well.

_I swam across,_

_I jumped across for you,_

_Oh what a thing to do._

_'Cause you were all yellow,_

_I drew a line,_

_I drew a line for you,_

_Oh what a thing to do,_

_And it was all yellow._

_Your skin,_

_Oh yeah your skin and bones,_

_Turn into_

_Something beautiful,_

_And you know,_

_For you I'd bleed myself dry,_

_For you I'd bleed myself dry._

_It's true,_

_Look how they shine for you,_

_Look how they shine for you,_

_Look how they shine for,_

_Look how they shine for you,_

_Look how they shine for you,_

_Look how they shine._

_Look at the stars,_

_Look how they shine for you,_

_And all the things that you do._

Austin and I ran through the song again and again before I smiled up at him and him down at me. "This album is going to be awesome," he told me.

"Yeah, It is," I agreed, nodding. I adjusted a few piano notes and scratched out words and placed it without better ones. We sang the song together, our voices synchronizing wonderfully.

"Where would the world be without us?" Austin wondered, teasingly.

I giggled, "Crashing and burning." Austin laughed. Our hands touched on the piano but neither of us seemed to notice, or maybe we did but we didn't care anymore. I didn't mind; either one was good.


	8. Chapter 8

"Ally, I didn't get to say good bye to you on our date," a curious Dallas asked. Trish stifled a laugh by shoving nacho chips into her mouth. My eyes grew larger as I slowly turned around a met the kind-eyed not-so-stranger.

"Uh," I grinned up at him, facing my humiliation. "I know it was sudden. I wasn't feeling well and...and I didn't want you to see me, ya know, all sweaty and pale," I grimaced at my excuse.

"I wouldn't of minded," he assured me, "I could've driven you home."

"I needed the fresh air," I blurted.

"Whatever you say," he invites himself at the table, pulling out the chair and taking a seat. "I watched you and Austin on the Helen Show," he told me.

"Oh, did you?" I tried to fight of the monotone in my voice, but it didn't work so well. "That's awesome."

"You did great. How is Austin anyway? I don't see him much." Dallas said.

"He's good?" I guessed. Trish nodded in approval of my answer, munching silently on her snack.

"You two seem very supportive and _friendly _with each other," I think I saw a muscle in his jaw tick. I raised my eye brows.

"Oh, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"What makes you say that?" I quizzed, snatching a nacho from Trish and ignoring the greedy glare she cast at me.

"Well, the interview, I guess. But before that you two were really close, weren't you?" he looked at me seriously.

My voice changed in pitch, "You could say that."

Trish snorted, "The were _way _more than just 'close'."

"Oh, really?" Dallas looked at me, his eye brows raised high. I felt my face flush.

"Well, yeah. I mean, the only dated for a week but it counts as something. After that they just remained friends with strong feelings for each other but bound by the rusty chain of We-Don't-Want-To-Ruin-Our-Friendship." she rolls her eyes, "whatever."

"Trish!" I growled, shaking my head. I looked back at Dallas who's eyes are blazing with jealousy. "It was nothing. Just a silly old crush."

"No, your crush on Dallas," she nods at him, "was a silly old crush, you're relationship with Austin was a whole other story. You two were like...like..._in love._" I wanted to throttle her right about now.

"Trish," I scowled. She glanced over at Dallas and shrugged slightly, sinking in her seat.

"You have a crush on me?" Dallas grinned, looking at me expectantly. _Silly, OLD crush. _

I didn't know what else to say. "Yeah," I coughed out, glaring at Trish who gawked.

"You do?!" she howled before I sent her a look that read for her to be nice, she cleared her throat, "I mean, yeah, she does."

"But you're in love with Austin?" he questioned.

My eyes bulged from my skull, "No! I never have been and I never will be!"

"Denial," coughed Trish, but I kicked her. Dallas hadn't seemed to hear her because he kept smiling at me.

"How about I take you to a movie tonight? Good? Good!" _Again he didn't allow me to reply. _"I heard that new movie 'NOAH' was pretty good! I'll pick you up at 7:30!" He bolted.

"It's like he knows you don't want to go," Trish said as we both watch his figure disappear. I groaned and dropped my head into my arms.

**. . . . . . **

"I was thinking tonight we could write a new song. I've worked on a melody already and...I sort of wrote a few lyrics. Maybe they're not so good, but I'm confident with the melody," Austin told me when he'd caught up with me in the mall.

"Yeah, sure," I agreed, "but it'd have to be after my date with Dallas."

Austin stopped all movement. "Your date with Dallas?" he questioned, before letting out a laugh, "Didn't that totally bomb?"

I hesitated, "Yes it did."

"And you said yes to another one?" he quizzed, a humored grin on his face.

"It didn't happen _quite like that," _I sang, reminiscing earlier today at the beach. Austin's bushy brow quirked. "Let's just say Trish said a couple things that he took the wrong way thinking I still liked him and I didn't have the heart to tell him that I don't," I glanced over at Austin who laughed half-heartedly.

"Did the guy not take a hint when you ditched on him?" he questioned, still cackling about the whole thing.

"That's the thing," I sighed, "I lied and told him it was because I didn't want him to see me sick. He thinks I left under horrible circumstances."

"Still playing people behind their backs, huh? It's like you don't learn," Austin suddenly spat. I looked at him, caught off guard.

"I don't play people behind their backs," I snapped, "That's something _you _do." I shook my head. "What is wrong with you? It's like you have an on/off switch and I never know when it's going to be flipped!"

"I don't have an on/off switch! But even if I did the only thing that triggers it is you!" he spat.

"You were fine literally two seconds ago!" I exclaimed, exasperated with his attitude.

"I didn't even change! I just made a comment and you blew it out of proportion as if I was attacking you," he glowered at me. I rolled my eyes.

"You didn't have to make the comment," I bit out. Now it was his turn to roll his eyes. "Whatever, Austin, I'm not interested in this conversation anymore. I'll see you later tonight." I walked away swiftly.

**. . . . . . **

"Wasn't that great?" Dallas exclaimed as we walked out of the cinema and emerged into the cold air. He still had his drink in hand and he was slurping the remaining's of his Pepsi. As I looked around at my surroundings, I tried to ignore the people around taking pictures of me.

"Yeah, definitely!" I lied through my teeth. To be honest, I didn't like the movie at all. It didn't make very much sense, but I didn't tell him that.

"You totally didn't like it," Dallas replied. I glanced at him, shocked. He laughed. "Whenever I looked at you in the theatre you looked bored and confused."

"Oh," I mumbled.

"Let's do something else," Dallas decided. I looked at him, unsure.

"No, I should get going. Austin and I need to write a song tonight-"

"The songwriting can wait until you have a good time," Dallas grinned crookedly at me. It wasn't as handsome as Austin's but it did make my stomach flip unexpectedly. He grabbed my hand. "Come here."

Dallas had ushered me through a back alley and into a parking lot. That's when I heard a low thrum of music. Music? He pulled me along further until the music started to get louder and I started to casually see people dancing and laughing.

The music grew louder and louder until finally I couldn't even hear myself think. "Come on!" he laughs again and pulls me in with the ground. We were accepted into the crowd right away and nobody seemed to notice that Ally Dawson was here - or maybe they did but I was already laughing with Dallas to notice any eyes or camera's on me.

"Let it all go, Ally!" he demanded, cackling with a grin on his face. I forced my arms to my sides and shook my head. He gave me a pointed look and grabbed my hand, spinning me around. I rolled my eyes and tried to tug my arms from his grip but he wouldn't let me go. "I told you to let it go!" I ignored Elsa's voice singing out 'Let it Go' in my mind as it always did when someone spoke the key words, instead I laughed and found my heart fluttering every time I looked at Dallas, just as it used to when I was sixteen.

Dallas pulled me in, grabbing my waist and forcing me to dance. I decided I would, just for him. This time I didn't feel intimidated because Dallas's dancing was half as bad as mine and so we danced horribly together. I didn't mind the judgmental looks of others, because I was having too much fun. Dallas spun me once again and the room flew in fast circles, the only thing I could make of it was Dallas's face.

Suddenly the words twisted in my head: _Love's got me cornered in the back of the room / I'm spinning around, I'm spinning around/ and all I see is someone I don't know / Love's got me tangled, tired me too / no sign of a wall, sign of a wall / spinning me around/ and baby all I see is you /._

I didn't know how long we'd been dancing, but finally Dallas dragged me away and I leaned up against a random car. He ran his fingers through his hair and I was trying to recover from giggling. "That was quite the dance-off," he winked. I blushed.

"That was fun," I breathed out, grinning at me. He smiled down at me.

"I'm glad you had fun. What time is it?" he questioned. I took out my phone and my eyes bulged. It was nearly 11:30. How long had we even been here? "Oh, wow. We really got lost in the moment."

"Definitely," I murmured. I wondered what Austin was going to say. I promised him for some songwriting. Then I felt something bitter twist in my gut; he deserved this, he was so rude to me earlier.

"I better get you home," he grinned at me. I nodded. I didn't know what Austin was going to say to me not showing up like I promised, but one thing I did know was that I was falling for Dallas again.

**. . . . . . . **

I crept into Trish's house, not wanting to disrupt her if she was sleeping. "Austin was looking for you."

I jumped, gasping and placing my palm over my racing heart. "Geez, Trish."

She grew more impatient, "I said: Austin was looking for you."

I sighed, "Figured he would've. I'm going to call him and tell him that the night just got away from me."

"Don't make promises you can't keep," Trish suddenly snapped. I was surprised that she was angry with me.

"I didn't promise him," I barked at her, "I might've said I would, but he knew I had a date."

"You should have stuck to your word," she said. "It's really late, Ally. It's almost midnight."

I sighed, "I know and I'm exhausted. But tonight was a lot of fun."

"Wait, What?" she questioned, looking shocked that I'd said anything.

I raised an eye brow, "I said that tonight was a lot of fun." Trish stared at me expectantly, wanting more than what was just said. "We went to a movie but he figured I didn't have fun so he took me to some place behind some back alley. It was sort of like a concert. I've never really done that before, I never usually enjoy that stuff, but man," I breathed out, contently, "I had the best time ever."

"You did?" Trish looked mildly disappointed. Why?

"Yeah," I said, staring at her with confusion. A grin suddenly curled onto my lips and I dropped my confusion and replaced it with giddiness, "_Aaaaand _I think I might like Dallas again. We're going on another date Saturday. He said he wants to take me to his mom's Art Show."

Trish made a movement that looked like the air was just knocked from her lungs. "Trish, Are you okay?" I asked, worriedly. It was a long moment before she nodded.

"Yeah...I'm fine.." she replied but I felt unconvinced. "I just...I'm shocked, that's all. I thought you didn't like Dallas anymore. I'm really surprised that you agreed to another date with him."

"I know, I thought I'd get tonight over with and never want to see him again but no, in fact, I think I already miss him!" I laughed giddily.

[Trish]

"In fact, I think I already miss him!" my best friend exclaimed, giggling and giddy. My heart was breaking at this. Dallas was not the one for her and I was sure of it. Austin was. Austin would always be. Why is she acting like an idiot? She even said so herself; Dallas never paid any attention to her until she came back famous. He doesn't really care about her, she knows that, doesn't she?

But as I watched her dismiss herself and skip away to her room, giggling and happy, my questioned was answered: No, no she did not know that. I was faking laughter with her. I turned my head and saw my reflection in a mirror that hung on the wall. I looked horrified and disappointed.

I texted Dez:

_We have a problem -T_

_What's wrong? :( -D_

_Ally. - T_

_What's wrong with her? did she come home yet? -D_

_She. likes. dallas. -T_

_D: -D _

I stared at his horrified emoji. That basically summed up my feelings in a nut shell. I heard the sound of her angelic, talented voice sing out: "Love's got me cornered in the back of the room, I'm spinning around, I'm spinning around!" It was good and I liked it, what I didn't like: It was obviously about Dallas. I sighed.

[Ally]

I finally crawled into bed, pajama's on, teeth brushed, make up off, and I pulled the quilt over my head. I grabbed my phones and texted Austin real quick:

_Sorry for not showing up tonight. My date went better than expected. -Ally._

I didn't even bother to wait for a reply because I was so exhausted from all that dancing that I fell asleep quickly and with a smile on my face.

**. . . . . **

"Hey, Austin. Did you get my text?" I questioned.

"Yeah, I got it," he said, tuning his guitar.

"Wanna write now?" I quizzed, nervously. He nodded.

"Sure."

Well, that went better than I thought. I figured he'd insult me for breaking promises and not sticking into my word because I'm so evil and deceitful. I nodded my head and walked towards the piano. "You had a melody?"

"Oh, not that one," Austin said suddenly, "I already wrote that song by myself."

I looked at him alarmed. "You...You what?"

"The song. I wrote it." he told me, "Well, actually Craig wrote it, but I helped."

"You got somebody else to write our song?" I questioned him, angrily.

"Well, you were busy figured I'd get it done and out of the way," he said, not bothering to look at me. I grabbed his guitar and tossed it onto the ground. He looked at me, his mouth gapped open. "Ally!"

"I can't believe you," I growled, "You couldn't of waited until today?"

"I wasn't sure if you'd get it done," he said, glaring.

"When haven't I gotten a song done?" I glowered at him and he didn't respond. "Exactly. Now that song won't be on the album." I crossed my arms.

"You can't do that!"

"You did it to me," I shot back, "I'm only singing songs that I write. I don't sing for other people. That one can go on your own album."

"No, it's going on this one. I wrote the melody for it." Austin snapped.

"I wrote those other two songs and you didn't allow them to go on the album," I said.

"At least listen to them first," He said.

"You didn't-"

"Please," he begged. I rolled my eyes and motioned for him to go. He grabbed his guitar that I'd thrown on the ground. He began playing and he stared into my eyes the entire time he sang it. I felt my knees get wobbly but I held my ground.

_I don't wanna be famous_

_I don't wanna if I can't be with you_

_everything I eat is tasteless_

_everything I see don't compare to you_

_Paris, Monaco, and Vegas,_

_I'd rather stay with you if I had to choose_

_Baby, you're the greatest_

_and I've got everything to lose_

_I just want to be with you_

_and I just can't get enough!_

_Baby, I'd give it all up, up_

_I'd give it all up_

_If I can't be with you_

_All of this stuff sucks,_

_Yeah, all of it sucks_

_If I can't be with you_

_No Oscar,_

_No Grammy,_

_No mansion in Miami!_

_The sun don't shine,_

_the sky ain't blue,_

_If I can't be with you. _

_I could sail around the whole world,_

_still won't find a place as beautiful as you girl_

_and really, who's got time to waste?_

_I can't even see a future_

_without you in it, colors start to fade_

_Ain't no way I'm gonna lose ya_

_No one in the world could ever take your place_

_You're the kind I can't replace_

_and I can't ever get enough_

_Baby, I'd give it all, up, I'd give it all up,_

_If I can't be with you!_

_All of this stuff sucks, yeah all of this sucks_

_If I can't be with you!_

_And,_

_No Oscar,_

_No Grammy,_

_No mansion in Miami_

_The sun don't shine the sky ain't blue ,_

_If I can't be with you!_

_Oh oh oh, oh oh oh,_

_If I can't be with you!_

_Oh oh oh, oh oh oh,_

_If I can't be with you!_

_If I can't be with you!_

_Oh if I can't be with you!_

_If I can't be with you!_

_Oh, all of this sucks, if I can't be with you!_

_All of this stuff sucks, yeah, all of this sucks!_

_If I can't be with you!_

_And,_

_No Oscar,_

_No Grammy,_

_No mansion in Miami_

_The sun don't shine the sky ain't blue_

_If I can't be with you!_

_Oh oh oh, oh oh oh,_

_If I can't be with you!_

_Oh oh oh, oh oh oh,_

_If I can't be with you!_

_With you_

I stared at him for the longest time, digesting the song because I couldn't ignore that it was the best I've ever heard him play. _And it just has to be on the album. _I wanted to say no, only because I didn't write it and I felt useless when I wasn't writing songs, not only any song, I felt useless when I was writing _his _songs.

"Well?" he pressed, nervously.

"Fine," I sighed, caving. There was no way I could say no to that song. I just started to wonder why I could never think of that. Why didn't those words ever come to me?

He grinned, "I told you!"

"Yeah, yeah," I frowned, sitting at the piano. "Let's write another one."

"You're not happy," he deadpanned, setting his guitar down and sitting next to me on the bench. "I'm sorry I wrote the song without you. I just wanted it done. I was feeling the song and you weren't available. What were you doing anyways?"

"I was on my date, you know that," I hissed.

"For nearly four hours?" he questioned. I nodded, not looking at him. I was so annoyed of the fact I didn't write that song and it was going on the album. "You said the date went better than expected?" he pressed, his voice casually getting softer.

"Yup." I added monotone in my voice. I could feel him giving me a look, so I continued on gently, "We have another date on Saturday. I'm meeting his Mom."

I glanced up at him to see him gawked at me, "You're already meeting his parents?!"

"Just his mother," I retorted.

"Ally, don't you think you need to slow down? Just yesterday you were going on about how you didn't have feelings for him." Austin said.

"That was before I had fun with him and realized my feelings were still there," I replied, a smile tugging on my lips as I remembered last night.

"What did you guys do?" he questioned.

"He took me to a movie and then he took me behind a back alley where a band was playing their small gig and we just danced and had fun." I told him.

"But, Ally, you hate that stuff," he said, confused.

Then I said, "People change." I shook my head, "And we're not going too fast. He wanted to take me to an art show and his mom just so happens to be presenting her art there."

"I see," he said, but he sounded slightly distracted.

"Let's work on the song," I mumbled.

"I'm. Sorry. Ally." he said, spacing out his words. I looked at him and I found a smile curling onto my lips.

"Thank you," I said. He shook his head, a small grin finding his lips in return.

"Better now?" he questioned.

"Better," I nodded. We laughed slightly and I tapped a few notes. Austin tapped a few notes as well and it sounded completely off-key. I glanced at him once before grumbling random words under my breath and grabbing my book, writing lyrics instead.


	9. Chapter 9 : Chocolate

It was Saturday and I was at the Art Show with Dallas. To say I was nervous was an understatement. I mean, I was going to meet his mother. I didn't even know anything about her, if she liked pink or blue, if she preferred Rock or Country, if she liked pancakes or waffles. Dallas has mentioned a detail - I've thrown in hints for him to tell me but he hasn't caught on. Typical. I smiled at the thought of Dallas.

"What are you smiling at?" Dallas wondered.

"Um, that painting," I fibbed, pointing towards the canvas with a painted horse. He nodded. He looked around. "What are you looking for?"

"My Mom," he said.

"Right," I mumbled.

"She loves you," he said. I raised an eye brow, making him chuckle. "Your music anyway. She's a huge fan." I smiled politely and nodded. _Oh great. _"There she is! Mom!"

A woman who didn't look relatively close to Dallas turned her head. She had blonde hair that cut just under her ears. She smiled at her son and then saw me, her eyes widening slightly but she still managed to make her way over. "Oh my Gosh, hello," she said, "I'm Anne Smith. You're Ally Dawson. You're a beautiful girl and a very talented musician. It's a pleasure to meet you." she babbled. "Not trying to be impolite, but what are you doing here?"

I felt this intense shyness but forced a brave face. I wasn't that girl anymore. I chanted to myself. I was not going to cower away because of a little bit of nervousness. Dallas jumped in and saved the day, "We're on our date. She's my girlfriend." I wasn't ever going to get used to hearing him say that. He asked me this morning and of course I said yes. I mean, it's Dallas. The cute cell phone accessory cart guy (although he doesn't work there anymore).

I watched Anne's eyes bug from her skull. "Oh! Dallas, you never mentioned you had a girlfriend!"

"I only asked her this morning," he wrapped an arm around me proudly. I tried not to sweat. "Ally wanted to see some of your artwork."

"Of course!" she exclaimed, almost too enthusiastically. She started walking away and I figured we were supposed to follow so I forced myself not to trip as I kept pace with Dallas, who occasionally commented on which artists he thought had talent and which ones didn't. I hardly noticed who didn't have talent, because I thought they were all pretty well done - better than I could ever do.

Anne led us into a hall and stretched out her arm, motioning towards the paintings and drawings hung along the wall. They were amazing. She obviously painted from the heart - some were of nature, others were hidden images inside a whole image, and the one I really liked was her painting of a piano and a random girl supposedly playing it. She had fancy words written on the painting as well, it read: Music Speaks When Words Cannot. I fell in love with it right away. I think Dallas and Anne noticed because I heard two soft laughs that sounded identical.

"Do you like that one?" she questioned. I realized how close up to the painting I was. My face flushed and I nodded.

"It's beautiful," I told her.

"It's for sale, if you want it," she grinned at me. I didn't even hesitate, not even a small contemplation crossed my mind, I was already nodding. Her grin grew wider. "Great!" she shuffled away, my guess it to grab an identical one.

I paid her in cash, she gave it to me for a discount. She assured me it was because I was with her son but a part of me knew it was because I was the famous Ally Dawson. I shook off the feeling and tried to get away from Anne but she kept hen-pecking at me to see more paintings of hers.

By the end of the night, I was sure I'd seen every piece of art in the building. Anne wouldn't stop talking. She went on and on about art - something I didn't necessarily relate to, but I still listened. Dallas was following behind, whenever I looked back, he would send me a smile and make me forget about how bored I was.

"Mom, I have to get Ally back." Dallas finally said. My cheeks were sore from smiling.

"Oh, right," Anne smiled, "it was lovely to meet you, Ally." Anne went for a hug. I hugged her back, but it was awkward. The only mother who wasn't mine that I actually enjoyed hugging was Austin's. Even Trish's mother made me feel awkward if I hugged her. Mimi never did. She was like Austin that way, plus the fact that she was too sweet and caring to not want to hug her.

I was in Dallas's car when I was scribbling down words that came to me. He glanced over. "Oh, is that a song?" he reached over and snatched the note paper from me.

"Dallas!" my eyes widened.

My cheeks turned a deep shade of crimson while he read it out loud: "Hey, now, call it a split 'cause you know that you will / Oh, you bite your friends like chocolate / you say we'll go where nobody knows / with guns hidden under our petticoats / no we're never gonna quit it, no, never gonna quit it, no." I fiddled with my fingers. I heard him laugh which caught me off guard. "What?" he said. "Ally, you must be really tired." he tossed the paper over to me.

It hurt because I thought I liked those words. I stared at him. "Yeah." I blurted. I stared down at the song and shook my head, biting the inside of my cheek. I discretely continued to write.

**. . . . . .**

Dallas had dropped me off at Sonic Boom, where I told him to bring me, about thirty minutes ago. I was strumming Austin's guitar that he left here and writing out more lyrics. I kept hearing Dallas laughing at me but I ignored it when the sound of music drowned out my thoughts.

I suddenly saw a figure walk through the Practice Room door. I stopped playing immediately and looked up and saw my familiar blonde sort-of-friend. "Austin, what are you doing here?" I questioned, alarmed by his presence.

"I came to get my guitar," he pointed at it. "But it looks like it's in use," he laughed slightly. I smiled softly. "How was the Art Show?" he questioned.

"It was pretty good," I said, not wanting to flatter him by telling him I didn't have fun with Dallas's mother. "Bought that from his Mom." I pointed at the canvas. Austin looked at it. He liked it, too.

"That's awesome," he said. He looked back at me. "You're writing a song."

"Yeah. It's sort of a normal thing for me," I replied. He laughed at my response.

"Can you play it?" he questioned.

"Uh, I don't - you want me to? I'm not sure if I should - I mean, you might-"

Austin looked at me weirdly, "Ally, why are you being so shy all of a sudden?"

I looked back at him, "I'm not."

"You are. You never have a problem showing me a song," he pointed out. I took a deep breath, nodding.

"Uh, okay. I just...I don't know about the lyrics." I told him. He shrugged, taking a seat. I started playing the song.

_"Hey now call it a split 'cause you know that you will_

_Oh you bite your friends like chocolate_

_You say, we'll go where nobody knows, with guns hidden under our petticoats_

_No we're never gunna' quit it, no we're never gunna' quit it no_

_Now we run run away from the boys in the blue, and my car smells like chocolate_

_Hey now think about what you do, think about what they say, think about how to think_

_Pause it play it, pause it play it, pause it_

_Oh we go where nobody knows, with guns hidden under our petticoats_

_No we're never gunna' quit it, no we're never gunna' quit it no_

_Yeah we're dressed in black from head to toe, we've got guns hidden under our petticoats_

_No we're never gunna' quit it. no we're never gunna' quit it no_

_Now you're never gunna' quit it, now you're never gunna' quit it, now you're never gunna' quit it_

_If you don't start smoking it, that's what she said_

_She said we're dressed in black, head to toe, with guns hidden under our petticoats_

_No we're never gunna' quit it, no we're never gunna' quit it no_

_Hey now we're building up speed as we're approaching the hill_

_Oh my hair smells like chocolate_

_Hey now you say you're gunna' quit it but you're never gunna' quit it_

_Gotta get it, gotta get it, gotta get it, gotta get it, go!_

_And play it cool_

_Oh and you said we go where nobody knows, with guns hidden under our petticoats_

_No we're never gunna' quit it, no we're never gunna' quit it no_

_Yeah we're dressed in black, from head to toe, we've got guns hidden under our petticoats_

_We're never gunna' quit it, no we're never gunna' quit it no_

_Well I think we better go, seriously better go_

_Said the feds are here you know_

_Seriously better go, oh oh, well I think we better go_

_Said the feds are here you know_

_Said Rebecca better know_

_Seriously better go_

_We go where nobody knows, with guns hidden under our petticoats_

_No we're never gunna' quit it, no we're never gunna' quit it no_

_Yeah we're dressed in black, head to toe, with guns hidden under our petticoats_

_No we're never gunna' quit it. no we're never gunna' quit it no_

_No no no_

_Well I think we better go, seriously better go_

_Said the feds are here you know_

_Seriously better go, oh oh, well I think we better go_

_Said the feds are here you know_

_Said Rebecca better know_

_Seriously better go."_

"See, I mean, I don't know-"

"Ally, I loved it!" he exclaimed. I stopped babbling immediately and stared at him.

"What?" I let out dumbly.

"Ally, that was awesome! That sounded like something that we...that we used to write. I love it. I think that should definitely be on the album." I found myself smiling up at him. "What made you think I wouldn't like it?" he asked.

"I just...I..." I met his eyes and said, "I actually don't know." Because that was when I realized one thing: The lyrics weren't stupid like Dallas made them out to be, he just didn't understand music, and if he didn't understand music, he didn't understand me.

Austin laughed slightly, "Well, that's definitely one of my favorite's you have ever written," he assured me with a boyish grin. The grin that I loved. I smiled back at him and held out his guitar. He chuckled and took it. He said good night to me and started walking away.

"Hey, Austin," I blurted. He turned around and lifted his eye brows at me. "Do you, I don't know, maybe want to hang out tomorrow? Just me and you?" I questioned.

He stared at me for a long moment, before the corner of his mouth twitched, he seemingly fought off a smile as he nodded, "Yeah, sure." I grinned and waved at him as he walked out. I heard him leave Sonic Boom. I dropped my head back on the chair. It's been a long day.

**...**

**Sorry for the shortness of this chapter, but I've gotta get to bed. **

**It was a filler, too. I'm thinking about naming the chapters now. woot. **

**So...Thanks for reeeeaaaadddiiiinnnngggg **


	10. Chapter 10 : Starlight

Austin and I were walking the beach in silence. "So," Austin let out, semi-awkwardly.

"So," I echoed.

"Why did you want to hang out?" Austin asked.

I actually didn't know. "Uh, just thought it would get the creative juices flowing," I fibbed. He nodded, convinced. I continued, "I figured it would be easier to write if we at least hung out once, ya know?"

He nodded, "Good idea," he managed to grin down at me. I returned the smile. We fell under a traumatic silence again. Austin cleared his throat awkwardly, "How are you and Dallas?"

I think I hesitated, "We're doing good. He asked me to be his girlfriend."

He sounded shocked when he asked, "he did?"

"Yeah, I said yes," I caught myself smiling. Dallas was perfect; his hair, his eyes, his grin, the way he moved, he was kind and fun, he surfed. He was just...perfect.

"You really like him, huh?" he questioned. When I looked up at him, I saw that he had been watching me when I was staring at the sand on the beach with a goofy smile on my face. I smiled a little wider and nodded. "Remember when you hired him by accident at Sonic Boom?"

I let out a laugh, "Yes."

"Dez and I were trying to break a record for how long we could spin a basketball on our finger tip," he chuckled, "Dallas broke a lot of stuff. He sold a guitar for the wrong price. You mowed his lawn plus other people's lawns and then you didn't know how to fire him and so Trish hired that choir who fired him through a song instead."

"Why are you bringing this up?" I laughed. Austin smiled over at me.

"I don't know, re-living good memories," he replied. I laughed again slightly. "We were really good friends back then."

I felt a lump in my throat and nodded, "Yeah."

"Yeah.." he echoed, looking down to his feet. "Remember when you sprained my ankle when I tried to teach you how to dance for Trish's quinceanera?" Austin said.

"Don't," I said making him laugh.

"Then it turns out I taught you for nothing because Dallas didn't even want to dance with you," Austin said.

"It's not that he didn't want to dance, he didn't know how to dance. Like me!" I said.

"Sure, that was it," he mumbled. I looked at him confusedly before shaking my head and choosing not to get into it. "I just remember that he really embarrassed you."

"But it was okay, because he danced with me at the end of the night." I retorted. He was hesitant but he still nodded.

"But then he never came around ever again," he added.

"Wrong. Then he worked at Sonic Boom, then I fired him - or I guess the choir did, _then _he never came around again." I told him, matter-of-factly. Austin chuckled slightly.

"I thought you got over him," Austin said, kicking the sand with his feet.

"I did. But then I realized why I used to like him and, I don't know, it sort of came back," I smiled. I didn't want to mention to Austin about what Dallas said to me when I wrote that song last night because I knew Austin would bash him and that would upset me. Although I was upset with what Dallas commented, I still _really_ did like him.

After that conversation, Austin tossed us into a different flashback about the time when we went to the beach and I got stuck in the beach chair thus later on composing our favourite song _Heard It On The Radio._

**. . . . . . . **

"Where are you going now? Out with Dallas again?" Trish questioned, but she had a tone in her voice. Three and a half months have passed by since Dallas asked me to be his girlfriend. Austin and I have composed more music and better songs (and I'd be lying if I said we weren't getting closer) , Trish has become more hostile towards Dallas as the days went by, and Dallas and I have started spending a lot of time together.

"Yes," I responded, casting her a look. She lifted her arms in defense. Finally, I felt really angry. She's so rude towards _my boyfriend _and then when I send her looks she makes it out like I'm the bad guy! "Well, you know, you're really starting to tick me off, Trish." She wasn't expecting that so she looked at me with wide eyes. "You constantly call him down to_ my face _, you mock him behind my back - I've heard you with Dez! You're my best friend and I thought you'd be supportive, so why aren't you?"

She was quiet for a moment. "You're right," she finally said. "I haven't been supportive, because when your best friend gets a boyfriend and you're happy for them, you're supposed to congratulate them. But I won't congratulate you, Ally, because I'm not happy for you." I looked at her, feeling as if I'd just been slapped twice across the face. "I'm not happy for you because he is not the guy you should be with. I'm not being biased, I've seen how he is with you, Ally, he never took interest until you came back famous and successful, and I don't understand why you're too blind to see that!" I felt something twist in my gut and I didn't know what it was - I think it was knowing, like I knew it too, but I forced myself into denial, shaking my head. "I don't want you to get hurt, Ally. That's all. I'm worried that he will hurt you."

I suddenly felt myself go into a state of awe as I looked at her. "Oh," I murmured when suddenly a smile curled on my lips, "Trish, you don't have to worry. I'll be okay. I promise."

She looked like she wanted to say more but she didn't, instead she nodded her head. I walked over to her and threw my arms around you. I heard her murmur, "I'm sorry for not being supportive. I will from now on." I didn't care that the words sounded forced, I was just happy that she said them.

My phone buzzed and I saw the text from Dallas, letting me know that he was waiting outside. He used to get up and walk to the door, but he stopped as of two weeks ago. I didn't mind, I just figured it was because we were starting to get more comfortable with each other now.

"He's here, I'll see you when I get home." I told her.

"Don't come back too late. He has a tendency to keep you past the curfew I've given you," she said. That was true. Trish has made me promise to never stay out past eleven. I laughed slightly and nodded, walking out the door.

I couldn't understand why Trish didn't like him. He made me laugh, he was nice, he took me to cool places, he was good to me. The car ride was short-lived, he'd taken me to Melody's Diner and we ate Chicken Pot Pie and shared a milkshake. I giggled when we bumped noses. He gave me a twisted smile, it looked forced. I was confused.

"Are you okay?" I questioned him when we got into the car.

"Yes," he said a little too quickly.

"No, you're not. What's wrong?" I questioned, grabbing his hand. He pulled it from my grasp.

"Ally, sometimes I just need space," he said. I glanced at him oddly. That didn't even make sense, we didn't even start holding hands until last month and he's the one who is always grabbing at me.

"Sorry," I mumbled, looking out the window.

He sighed, "No, I'm sorry. I got into a fight with my Dad."

"Oh," I frowned, "Why?"

"He was mad because I quit my job," he said. My eyes widened. Dallas worked at an Auto Mobile Company where he fixed cars and he was good at it and got paid well.

"Dallas!" I shrieked. He sighed.

"Ally, not you, too..." he groaned.

"Dallas, that job was awesome and you loved it! Why would you quit?" I questioned.

"Well, I figured since you and I are together that I don't exactly need a job. I mean, we're getting closer and I really like you and I know you like me, too, our relationship is going somewhere. Maybe we could move in together." he said.

I could feel the wheels turning in my mind before coming to a screeching stop. "Move in?" I gawked, "Dallas, it's been nearly four months only. I can't move in with you. I'm not even living here."

"Well, I can go to L.A with you when the album is done. By the time we'll have been dating for a year or more," Dallas said.

"I...I guess," I stammered unsure. I didn't feel comfortable with this conversation, but there was no way out. I tried to take flight by staring out the window and watching the city pass by, speaking of city, why are we leaving the city? I felt nervous. "Where are we going?"

"I wanted to sit by the lake," he told me. I relaxed and smile. "But come on, Ally, we could do this. Move in together and start our lives. Ally Smith sounds nice-"

"Dallas, stop," I blurted unexpectedly, shocking myself. He looked at me. "Dallas, I don't want to talk about this stuff."

"What do you mean?" he questioned me.

"Dallas, we've been going out for four months. We're only 19 and 20 and you're talking to me about moving in and marriage and our lives," I shook my head, "I'm not ready for that."

"Why not?" he questioned.

"I'm just not," I said firmly. "I really like you, Dallas, I do, but moving in and marriage? You need to slow down. I'm hardly an adult, Dallas."

"Yet you can handle a life-long career," he snapped at me.

"Because it's what I love - wait, no, that came out wrong!" I shrieked. He looked at me with a dark look.

"So you don't love me?" he questioned. I shook my head.

"No! No! That's not it!" I said, "I mean, no I don't love you, I-I mean," I took a deep breath, realizing I was just bombing and possibly wrecking this relationship, "Ok. I don't love you, but I really like you, maybe in a few more months that could grow to be love. Okay. There. And my career is simpler than life. You're talking about a life commitment, Dallas, and I can't...I'm not ready for that." _Because when I hear commitment, I hear the sound of my mother yelling at my father and my father declaring he wanted a divorce._

"I see," Dallas said, stiffly. I sighed.

"I'm sorry. I...I'm not good with talking about my feelings," I groaned, "This is why I write songs, so much easier." I grumbled.

"Yet you write music, speaking of music, you haven't written any songs about me," he said.

"Well...Well I...I just..." I stumbled over my words. He had parked the car but wasn't making an effort to get out. But I sure was! My hands were shaking and I grabbed my seatbelt, clipping it off of me and trying to stumble out of the car. I really needed air.

"_Don't _get out of this car," he said firmly in a tone I'd never heard before. I glanced back at him. "Ally, You just admitted you don't love me, you haven't even written a song about me. I'm really upset about this." _Stop being such a baby, _I thought to myself but didn't have the confidence to actually say it to him.

What I did have the confidence to say: "Why do I get the feeling that you only want to date me for my music?"

His eyes went wide and sincere, "What? Ally, don't think that. I like you for who _you_ are. Not your music."

I smiled, believing him. "Ok."

He took a deep breath, "Let's just calm down and sit by the lake. This argument was petty." I nodded and watched him get out of the car first before I took a deep breath and followed suit; getting out of the car and joining him by the lake.

**. . . . . . **

[Trish]

"They're making another Zalien's Movie!" exclaimed Dez, on his phone. He showed Austin and I the proof by flashing the screen in our face where the director announced it on his twitter.

"YES!" Austin and I exclaimed and the three of us starting rolling around on the floor and jumping off the furniture in excitement. To further our excitement, Dez popped in a Zalien movie.

When Ally strolled inside, our faces were glued to the TV. "Zalien's, really?"

"SHH!" we shushed her in unison.

"Sorry," she grumbled. She set her purse down by her shoes and walked off into the kitchen. I sat in the living room with the boys for about twenty minutes before the feeling in my gut to go talk to Ally finally pushed me to get up.

I walked into the kitchen to see Ally sitting at the table with her head in her hands. I frowned. I walked up to her and nudged her shoulder slightly, "You okay?" I asked her. She looked up suddenly and I saw the weary look in her eyes, but she smiled at me.

"Yeah," she said, "just waiting for my pop tart," she motioned to the toaster. I stared at her.

"What happened?" I asked, knowing her like the back of my hand.

I could see my question wore her down some. The smile faltered slightly and her eyes got a little bit distant. "We just had an argument."

"You want to talk about it?" I asked her, concerned, taking my seat. I thought I saw her eyes glisten but she looked down at her hands and when she looked back up her eyes were still dry.

"I don't know. It was stupid. I mean, he started talking to me about," she looked around and whispered, "_moving in."_

My grew semi larger, "Whoa, What?"

"That's not it. Then he started talking about building a life with me and calling me Ally _Smith._" My eyes grew wider. She continued, "It freaked me out a little bit so I told him to cool it and slow down and he got mad and twisted my words into saying how I didn't love him," I thought her voice wobbled but when she carried on, her voice remained strong, "Then I tried to tell him that that wasn't it and I ended up telling him that I loved my career more than him, so I had to explain to him what I mean was that I wasn't ready to talk about that, for god's sake Trish, it's been four months! Not four years!"

"I hear ya," I said, stunned that he even brought that up to her.

"_Then _he got mad because I don't love him and I don't write songs about him! Like, where did _that_ come from?" Ally was ranting now. I nodded to let her know I was still listening. "And, ugh," she took a deep breath then slowly let it out. "Then he said that the argument was petty and boom, just over, like that." Ally seemed confused and furious at the same time as she frantically lifted it arms and then dropped them to her sides. "Why does he get to call the shots?"

"Aw, it's your first fight," I teased her, trying to lighten the mood. She gave me a look to let me know that the comment was not needed. "Sorry," I murmured. "Are you guys okay now?"

"Yeah, No, I don't know," she shook her head. "I feel pressured with him."

"Pressured?" I echoed.

"Yes. Like he's just waiting for me to change my mind and fall to my knees and beg him to make me his wife. I'm nineteen, Trish, I don't want to get married or move in with him or build a life with him. I want to focus on my music. I'm happy that way, only focusing on my music, nothing else." she vented, tiredly.

I heard her pop-tart pop from the toaster but she didn't move. "And, ugh, I have a headache," she whimpered, putting her head in her hands again and using her palms to massage her forehead.

I reached over and touched her shoulder comfortingly. "Do you want some water?"

"Please," she murmured. I nodded and poured her a glass of water and handing it to her. She sipped it and I could see that these nearly-four-months with Dallas has completely worn her down and that made me hate Dallas even more. There was something about him that was hurting her, and I don't even think she realizes it herself. To be a better help, I grabbed a plate and set her pop-tart in front of her as well. "Thanks," she smiled up at me.

"Was that all?" I asked her, taking my seat across from her again.

She nodded, "Yes. Although when we sat at the lake he kept dropping hints that he was still mad at me, but I just ignored it." She dropped her pop-tart on her plate and went back to putting her head in her hands, scrubbing the tips of her fingers in her hair. It was obvious she was stressed and I felt bad for her. "I just don't want to feel obligated to have a commitment with him. I really like him, Trish, but I just don't want a commitment with him."

I felt sympathy well up in my chest when I saw a tear suddenly slip from beneath her hands onto her lap. Her breathing was shaky and I realized she was crying. _That jerk. _"Oh, Ally!" I wrapped my arms around her frame and she leaned into me. I could hear her trying to swallow her tears, but she just couldn't and I was okay with that. "You know what you need?" I let out, "a brownie! You need a brownie!" I heard her laugh softly through her tears. "I'll be back. Hopefully Dez and Austin haven't eaten it all."

I walked back into the living room and saw that they hadn't eaten the brownie. I took the plate. "What do you think you're doing?" Dez questioned, reaching for the plate. "We're not finished."

"Yes you are." I deadpanned. "Ally needs a brownie and she's going to eat this one."

"No, she can make her own brownie! I want that one and I've already eaten half of it so give it back!" Dez argued. I gave him a dark look and he grabbed it. I tugged it back, finally knowing that the only way to win this fight was to tell him the truth.

I knew Ally would throw a fit if she knew I'd told the boys so I kept my voice quiet, "Dez! She's crying!" I hissed through a whisper. He immediately let go of the plate and I saw both of the boys' eyes widen. "Thank you," I pursed my lips, taking the brownie.

"Is she okay?" Austin suddenly asked.

"I'm sure she will be," I said, sighing.

"What happened?" a concerned Dez asked.

"Dallas happened, that's what," I snapped, "they had an argument and it upset her, now if you'll excuse me, she needs her brownie." I then walked into the kitchen where I saw Ally, trying to use her sleeves to stop the tears that were running down her cheeks.

"Here," I murmured softly, staring at her with concern. She laughed slightly.

"I feel like I shouldn't be crying," she said, embarrassed.

"It's okay. You're just overwhelmed." I said. She nodded, taking a bite of the brownie. Her eyes were red and they were starting to puff slightly. She was really upset. That's when I saw her eyes flicker to the entrance of the kitchen. When I followed her gaze I saw Dez and Austin standing there, like curious and nervous little boys.

She looked away from them, obviously not wanting them to know that she was crying. They both shuffled over. Austin was the one who stood next to her though. I smiled at him.

"Are you okay?" Austin asked, staring down at her with worry. Ally managed to glance up at Austin.

"Yeah," she said, but her eyes were still full of tears. He didn't look away for one second, he kept searching her face as if he was trying to convince himself that she was.

"Do you want to write a song?" he questioned her, nudging her shoulder lightly like he knew she wanted to. Ally disappointed Austin when she shook her head.

"Come on, Ally, Music always makes you feel better," Dez chimed. "How about you play for us tonight?"

"Dez, she's upset, I doubt she'll want to-"

"Sure," Ally interrupted. I looked at her and saw a genuine smile on her face. Well, I didn't expect that. Dez gave me a look and I rolled my eyes at him. "But I want to finish my brownie," she said, causing everyone to laugh.

Ally did just that. She finished her brownie. We were all sat in the living room as we waited for Ally. She walked into the living room and the redness around her eyes were gone. She was sitting cross-legged on the floor, balancing the guitar in her lap.

"Let's hear a new one," I told her. She nodded and found her groundings on the guitar before she started to play.

_I said oh my, what a marvellous tune_

_It was the best night_

_Never would forget how he moved_

_The whole place_

_Was dressed to the nines_

_And we were dancing, dancing_

_Like we're made of starlight_

_I met Bobby on the boardwalk_

_Summer of '45_

_Picked me up late one night_

_Out the window we were seventeen_

_And crazy, running wild wild_

_Can't remember what song it was playing when we walked in_

_That night we snuck into a_

_Yacht club party, pretending to_

_Be a duchess and a prince_

_And I said oh my, what a marvelous tune_

_It was the best night_

_Never would forget how he moved_

_The whole place_

_Was just to the nines_

_And we were dancing, dancing_

_Like we're made of starlight, starlight_

_Like we're made of starlight, starlight_

_He said, "Look at you, worrying too much about things you can't change._

_You'll spend your whole life singing the blues if you keep thinking that way."_

_He was trying to skip rocks on the ocean, saying to me_

_"Don't you see the starlight, starlight? Don't you dream impossible things?"_

_Like oh my, what a marvellous tune_

_It was the best night_

_Never would forget how he moved_

_The whole place_

_Was just to the nines_

_And we were dancing, dancing_

_Like we're made of starlight, starlight_

_Like we're made of starlight, starlight_

_Ooh ooh, he's talking crazy_

_Ooh ooh, dancing with me_

_Ooh ooh, we could get married_

_Have ten kids and teach them how to dream_

_Oh my, what a marvellous tune_

_It was the best night_

_Never would forget how we moved_

_The whole place_

_Was dressed to the nines_

_And we were dancing, dancing_

_Like we're made of starlight, starlight_

_Like we're made of starlight, starlight_

_Like we're made of starlight, starlight_

_Like we dream impossible dreams_

_Like starlight, starlight_

_Like we dream impossible dreams_

_Don't you see the starlight, starlight?_

_Don't you dream impossible things?_

We all clapped for Ally when she was finished which put a smile on her face as she thanked us. "That could go on the album if you want it to," Austin said. Her face lit up making him laugh.

"Yes! Yes!" she shrieked. For the rest of the night, Ally played her songs for her three friends and that's when Austin caught himself unable to take his eyes away from her. That's when he found one thing: he was still in love with Ally Dawson.


	11. Chapter 11 : Thinking Of You

I was exhausted, strolling out into the early morning air in nothing but a t-shirt and sweatpants. I opened Trish's mailbox with her key. I closed it and shuffled my feet back into her house, my eyes glued to each envelope as I was flipping through it. I shut the door with the bottom of my foot when I suddenly noticed an envelope that looked fancier than the rest.

The envelope a lot shorter than the rest as well, it was painted in a beautiful beige, the shade of _Dawn Chorus _to be exact. (How did I know this? I love the color beige, I know pretty much all the shades of it, from lightest to darkest.) In beautiful cursive writing I saw my name printed on the front in a soft gold _Miss Ally Dawson. _The envelope was sealed with a big, gold sticker.

Curious, I wandered further into the house, setting the other envelopes on her table and tearing into this current one. (Okay, I lied, I didn't tear it. I carefully opened it. I believe tearing an envelope is rude.) I slipped out a piece of paper that had been folded in half. I unfolded it slowly. My mind was racing. What is this?

_Miss Ally Dawson,_

_Congratulations! _

_The Grammy nominations for Favorite Female Artist Of The Year are:_

_KATY PERRY_

_BEYONCE_

_ALLY DAWSON_

_LORDE_

_KELLY CLARKSON_

_RIHANNA_

I felt my heart jump into my throat and my breath catch inside my lungs. My hands started to shake as I re-read the paper over and over again, trying to make sense of any of it. Was this really happening?

Oh my God.

_I just got nominated for the Grammy's._

Finally, I think the news hit rock bottom because I shouted, "Oh my God!" I ran around the house just to find that I was by myself. I stopped jumping around and stared at the paper again, re-reading another time just for extra verification. I felt tears fill my eyes as I laughed out of shock and joy. I had to be dreaming.

I grabbed my phone, calling my Mom who lived in L.A with me, I explained to her the news, blubbering loudly on the phone. She sobbed out of pure joy and excitement, declaring that she knew I could do it. I didn't hesitate to tell my Dad who was silent before he cried proud tears as well. My excitement didn't lead to tears anymore, just an incredible amount of rejoicing and jumping around.

Before I knew it, I ran into my bedroom, slipping into more appropriate and fresher clothing. Trish had left her keys on the table, so I grabbed them, still clutching the letter in my other hand, and jumped into her car. I took off towards the mall where I was sure Trish was.

**. . . .**

I burst into the Practice Room where I was lucky to find Trish, Dez, _and _Austin. Perfect! "Guys! Guys! Guys!" I could hardly breathe. They were still alarmed by my sudden entry and stared at me questioningly.

"Ally?" Trish said, arching a brow. It was like I was squealing on the inside, not making any sound but sucking in large amounts of air and shifting excitedly from one leg to another. "Ally, breathe! What's going on!"

I started shaking my hands weirdly. I must've looked ridiculous but I couldn't help myself, I was so darn excited! "Ally. What. Is. Going. On.?" Austin said slowly. Dez was afraid to talk to me, he backed away instead. I didn't care. Too much excitement was bubbling through me!

I was nearly hyperventilating. I held up the envelope and pointed at it with my index finger, smacking it more than a few times, "This! This! This!" They still didn't understand. I let out a semi-squeal, shaking my body all over, "I just got nominated for the Grammy's!" I announced.

They weren't like me; they understand what I said the second it was spoken. Trish's eyes bulged, Austin jumped up from his seat, and Dez gasped.

Trish shouted, "What!"

Austin blurted, "Oh my God!"

Dez yelled, "Holy mother of Music!"

I squealed again, nodding and shaking my body ridiculously again, "I know!"

"Ally, this is incredible!" Austin shrieked and I ran into his open arms, hugging him tightly. He continued to chant how happy he was for me. I was in too much excitement to realize our moment. Trish and Dez had joined in as well. Trish leaking happy tears.

"What's going on in here?" the sound of my boyfriend's voice rang into my ears. I grinned wide and pulled away suddenly from the group hug, turning towards Dallas.

[Austin]

Trish's mouth gapped open, "You do?!" I sighed, nodding.

"Yes, Trish. I like Ally again," I repeated.

"I told you it wasn't wishful thinking! Doubter!" Dez yelled at Trish who was ecstatic about the whole thing. I rose my eye brows.

"What?" I said.

"Never mind," Trish said, waving her hand dismissively at me. "Why do you look so upset?"

"Well, it's not like I can tell her. She's just my friend - she's not even that, not anymore. I'm just someone she's forced to work with and she has Dallas now, who she seems to really like," I sighed with defeat. Trish frowned and Dez patted my shoulder.

"Austin, you should really-"

The Practice Room door swung open with a lot of force and Ally appeared in the doorway, looking like she just peed her pants. "Guys! Guys! Guys!" She was dancing weirdly, shaking her hands and bouncing on her feet. She looked like she was trying to hold in or muffle screams of some kind. It concerned me, to be honest.

We were still all a little stunned by her sudden appearance, but finally Trish said, "Ally?" Ally wouldn't respond, it was almost like she couldn't. It dawned on me that she wasn't breathing properly. "Ally, Breathe! What's going on?" Yeah, I'm pretty that was what we were all wondering.

Her dancing and shaking started to get on my nerves, so I repeated Trish's words more slowly, wondering if she'd answer this time, "Ally. What. Is. Going. On.?"

I glanced to Dez who backed out and refused to talk to her. He looked semi-frightened. "This! This! This!" shouted Ally, holding back squeals for some reason. Mail? Why is she showing us her mail? Finally, she let out the squeal that she'd been holding back, "I just got nominated from the Grammy's!" I was off of the piano bench the second my mind registered her words.

"Oh my God!" I heard myself say along with Dez and Trish shouting out their own shock and excitement.

The only thing Ally could think to say was, "I know!" I couldn't even begin to explain the pride I felt for her. She deserved this more than anyone. She worked for this. Today, three or four years ago, Ally wouldn't have dared to even sing in front of anyone other than myself, Dez, and Trish, and now she was just nominated for the Grammy's.

I didn't notice my arms were opened until she ran into them, gripping me tightly like she didn't want to let go. I didn't want her to. I returned the strong embrace, burying my face into the crook of her neck and consistently repeating how happy I was for her and how proud. I felt Dez and Trish join our hug, but I hardly noticed them because I was focused on Ally and her huge moment. I thought I was about to kiss her - Maybe on the cheek, maybe on the forehead, maybe on the lips, but suddenly I heard the sound of a voice I was trying not to dislike: Dallas's.

"What's going on in here?" he questioned, his arms crossed, leaning against the door frame, arched eye brows. Oh, take a hike! But I didn't miss the way her face lit up and I only remembered when she used to look at me that way.

"Dallas!" she cried, tearing from our grip. She grabbed the letter and held it in both hands, showing it to him, bouncing on both feet again, "I was nominated for the Grammy's!"

His eyes grew semi larger and his eye brows raised, "You were what?" he said, laughing out of shock. "That's so awesome! Come here!" she wrapped her arms around his neck, laughing happily like she was content there.

I couldn't watch her be happy with someone else so gave my gaze permission to fall to the floor. My blood boiled. It was only three weeks ago that she was crying because of the dirtball! That stupid, ignorant, controlling, Moldy Pancake.

"We need to tell my Mom about this!" he announced. I looked up at her to see her response and I caught the way her eyes lost their sparkle but she immediately forced them to sparkle and I was thinking it was really only to please him. She shouldn't feel forced to do anything.

"Yeah!" she agreed, but I knew my Ally and she did not want to. If he knew anything about her, he'd know the way her tone changes when she wants or does not want to do something. She used the tone that stated she really did not want to but would just for him. Because he was her stupid boyfriend. But he doesn't deserve even one shade of Ally!

"Ally, I wanted to celebrate with you. Maybe the four of us could go out to dinner?" Trish said, biting her lip. She gave Ally a look that told her she strictly did not want Dallas there.

"I'll come with!" Dallas exclaimed, grinning. I tried not to glare, but it was hard.

Ally was looking at Trish, she looked back at Dallas and patted his chest once, "Um, How about we tell your Mom and do something with her. Tonight I'll celebrate with my friends, just me." _Thank you, God. _But Dallas clearly did not like that, but he glanced towards the three of us and forced a nod.

"Alright, whatever you want, _babe_." he said and I watched the way she nearly grimaced. Ally definitely did not like _that. _He had no idea who he was even dating. Again, if he even knew Ally, he'd know that she doesn't like those kind of nicknames, they make her uncomfortable.

I watched him pull her away, their hands laced, but Ally still glances back at me, _just me, _only to smile. I gave her a small grin that was barely even on my lips, perhaps it didn't even make it there.

[ Ally ]

"Ally, that is unbelievable!" said Dallas's mother, cupping her hand over her mouth in wonder. I grinned at her, nothing could take away this moment from me. "Are friends and family allowed?"

Well, except for maybe that.

"I, uh, I'm not sure," I told her.

"Well, surely, once you do know, we will be invited, won't we?" she questioned.

"Well, I was...I was sort of thinking I would invite, um, my friends first," when I said that, she looked at me as if I'd insulted her in the worst way, so I elaborated, "It's just that Austin was my partner, he helped me overcome my stage fright, it would only be fair if he got to see me accept my award," if he even really cared, "Trish is my best friend so she _has _to come and Dez is her boyfriend and my friend, he'll need to be there, too. Oh and of course my Dad will want to be there with me."

"I want to be there, too," Dallas blurted.

"I'm sure I could invite you as well," I said, my voice soft.

"If Dallas goes, I am going as well," Anne invites herself. I couldn't be rude, so I just nodded. She smiles with satisfaction.

With that being said, Dallas explained to his mother that he wanted to celebrate with me. He took me to an ice cream parlor where I asked for Fruity Mint Swirl. Dallas offered to pay and I let him.

"I'm so proud of you, Ally," Dallas said, smiling down at me with the smile that made my heart trip inside my chest. I blushed and focused on my ice cream. I nodded.

"Thank you, Dallas," I told him.

"I just thought it was rather odd that you didn't want to tell me first," he mumbled. I looked at him and felt immediately guilty. That was the truth. It was odd that I didn't want to tell Dallas first, in fact, it actually never occurred to me to tell him. The only people I thought of were my parents and my friends. Not Dallas. Not his mother. Not even Nelson and he only lives down the street from Dez.

"I was in so much shock, I didn't know who to go to first. I called my parents first," I told him. He seemed to relax. I frowned. Why was he tense in the first place? "What? Why were you so uptight?"

"I just, I don't know, I'm just glad you told your parents first instead of Austin," he said, eating some of his own ice cream.

I stopped, "Why would that matter?"

"Well, you're not with Austin. You and Austin are hardly friends. It would be odd to pick Austin to tell over anyone else. But it was nothing, I worried over nothing because you didn't tell him first," he smiled.

"You were worried?" I grumbled, walking again. Dallas's arm brushed up against mine casually and for the first time, it didn't give me goose bumps.

"I guess I was," he admitted.

"You don't trust me?" I questioned, "Only boyfriends who don't trust their girlfriends get worried over stuff like that."

"Don't pick a fight with me, Ally. Let's enjoy this moment of excitement," Dallas said. There he goes again, calling all the shots. It annoyed me but I let it go.

"Okay," I responded, but all I could think was: _I was not picking a fight! _

"Ally, Can I do something?" he questioned. I nodded, looking up at him and my eyes widened when he got real close. I realized what he was doing and I grinned. I happily leaned up and pressed my lips to his. His lips were warm but I grimaced when they tasted of Black Licorice. Horrible ice cream, absolutely horrible.

But when his lips were on mine all I could see was Austin's face in my mind and the ocean made me hear the sound of his laugh. I wonder what Austin's lips felt like. I felt them once and I'd been dying to feel them again. Wait, what? I jumped away from Dallas, panicked as to why I was thinking of Austin suddenly. This wasn't the first time; it's been happening a lot lately.

"Is something wrong?" he asked me, confused.

I looked at him, "No," I lied, _I'm just imagining kissing Austin instead of you._

"Alright, you seemed panicked for a second," he said, searching my face for something.

"Oh...Um, no, you just...you stepped on my toe," I fibbed and he chuckled.

"Sorry about that," he said, glancing down to my feet, "they look fine." I smiled slightly and nodded. He laces our hands together and for an odd reason, I pulled my hand away. When he looked at me surprised, I just pretended to fix the napkin that was wrapped around my cone and he immediately laid off.

"I love you, Ally," Dallas suddenly blurted. I turned and looked at him. He's staring down at me with intense eyes, but my lips won't move and I don't say it back.

It hits me then; I don't love Dallas.

**. . . . . . .**

I was sitting on my bed, staring out my window. The city lights were beautiful. I thought about today and everything that happened and I let it run through my head. I sighed, reaching over to the nightstand by my headboard and I grabbed my songbook. I started scribbling down lyrics.

_Comparisons are easily done_

_Once you've had a taste of perfection_

_Like an apple hanging from a tree_

_I picked the ripest one, I still got the seed_

_You said move on, where do I go?_

_I guess second best is all I will know_

_'Cause when I'm with him I am thinking of you_

_(Thinking of you, thinking of you)_

_Thinking of you, what you would do_

_If you were the one who was spending the night_

_(Spending the night, spending the night)_

_Oh, I wish that I was looking into your eyes-eyes_

_You're like an Indian Summer in the middle of a winter_

_Like a hard candy with a surprise center_

_How do I get better once I've had the best?_

_You said there's tons of fish in the water, so the waters I will test_

_He kissed my lips, I taste your mouth, oh!_

_(Taste your mouth)_

_He pulled me in, I was disgusted with myself_

_'Cause when I'm with him I am thinking of you_

_(Thinking of you, thinking of you)_

_Thinking of you, what you would do_

_If you were the one who was spending the night_

_(Spending the night, spending the night)_

_Oh, I wish that I was looking into_

_You're the best, and yes, I do regret_

_How I could let myself let you go_

_Now, now the lessons learned_

_I touched it, I was burned_

_Oh, I think you should know!_

_'Cause when I'm with him I am thinking of you_

_(Thinking of you, thinking of you)_

_Thinking of you, what you would do_

_If you were the one who was spending the night_

_(Spending the night, spending the night)_

_Oh, I wish that I was looking into your, your eyes_

_Looking into your eyes, looking into your eyes_

_Oh, won't you walk through_

_And bust in the door and take me away?_

_Oh, no more mistakes_

_'Cause in your eyes I'd like to stay, stay..._

I put the pen down, turned out the light, and forced myself to sleep. It didn't take much, because I fell asleep right away, into a deep slumber. One where I dreamed of a blonde haired boy and the blonde haired boy only.


	12. Chapter 12

It had been five days since I found out about my Grammy nomination. I get to perform there too and I'm pumped, but also a little nervous. But what's a performance without adrenaline?

"Hey, Ally," Kira said, sitting down in front of me. I grinned at her. Kira and I had mended the edges around our relationship with one another and we were friends now. The whole Austin thing never stayed between us, she was over him, as was I. Now, we were friends.

"Hey, Kira," I echoed, taking the smoothie she had put in front of me. "Thanks," I said and she nodded. We'd been connecting while I was in L.A., with phone calls, texting, Skype. Jimmy even let her come down to L.A to see me once, although she was also there because Jimmy had to meet with a client that he was interested in signing.

"How've you been?" she asked me.

"Decent, how about you?" I replied.

"Pretty good, but I know you're better than decent. Your Grammy nomination!" she smacked my arm and I laughed. We started talking excitedly about the nomination and what I wanted to perform while I was there. She told me she voted for me, which I was thrilled to hear considering she loves Katy Perry so much and chose me over her.

She started to ask me about other things and I found myself having a conversation with her about Dallas. I only told her about how great he was and how much I liked him. I hadn't even realized how annoying I could have sounded because I just loved to talk about him. She suddenly looked nervous and pursed her lips.

"Is there something wrong?" I questioned her.

"It's just...Ally, there's something you should know," she said. I looked at her, cocking my head slightly with confusion. "I saw Dallas a while back, I know I should have told you sooner, it was maybe a month ago...I'm not sure, he was at a party and he was surrounded by a lot of girls and drinking. He kissed a few of them, not one, but a few. I didn't want you to know so I didn't say anything, but I feel guilty for not telling you."

I digested slowly what she just told me, before I shook my head. "No...No, you must've seen somebody else because Dallas told me he loves me, he wouldn't do that."

"Did he tell you that?" she questioned.

"Well, yeah. He told me he loved me. I didn't say it back though, but I'm starting to reconsider. I think I do love him," I smiled slightly. She nodded. "Don't worry, Kira, I know Dallas and he wouldn't do that."

"Right," she said, "I must've seen somebody else," she shook her head, running a hand through her dark hair. I nodded in agreement. She looked like she still wanted to say more so I gave her a look. She sighed, "It wasn't the only time, Ally."

"Kira," I let out, "it's fine."

"Ally, you know I go to all the parties," she said, "he's always there and he's never alone. He's always got a girl on his side and they always look a little more than friendly."

I took in what she said, but I didn't want to come into agreement so I shrugged, "If it was him, he would tell me that it wasn't working out. Plus, he hasn't been acting like something was up. He's been really close to me and always making sure I know he loves me and that I'm alright. He tells me how proud he is of me. He's too good to do something like that, Kira."

"You're right," she said but I know she still thinks what she saw was accurate. "How's the album coming along?" she finally changes the subject. I followed suit.

**. . . . .**

"What's with you?" Dallas asked, joining me on his couch while handing me a cup of coffee. _I hate coffee. _I shifted before setting the beverage down on the coffee table.

"Just thinking about what to perform," I told him, forcing my lips to lift into a smile. I didn't know what to do about Dallas. I liked this boy, a lot, and I was totally sure of it. But when he said he loved me, I knew I didn't love him. Maybe I just need to calm down, I do love Dallas, I do, I'm just not ready to say it yet. I even talked to Kira and when I was talking to her, I felt like I do love him! It's just a hard thing for me to say right now. Right, yeah, that's it. See, problem solved!

He hadn't even seemed to mind that I didn't say it back. Well, I guess it was the fact that to avoid his questioning about my speechlessness I gave him a kiss on the cheek and a wide smile. It seemed to distract him from my lack of words. But I also couldn't stop thinking about Austin. Trish was acting differently too, always mentioning Austin here and there. It's actually starting to frustrate me because she's making it hard not to think about him. I'm trying not-

"Ally!" Dallas laughed.

I looked at him, arching my eye brows. "What?" I said.

"You keep zoning out. Stop worrying about your performance. Just relax and watch Twilight with me," he said.

I gaped at him, "T-Twilight?" _I hated this movie. _

"Yeah, I know," he gave me a smile and shifted in his seat, "I'm a sweet guy who likes deeply romantic movies." _More like cliché ones._

I managed to laugh as I nodded, "Alright, okay." I wasn't sure how I was going to get through this movie. I usually always have to stifle a laugh every time Bella and Edward exchange a ridiculously long, unnecessary kiss.

Half way through the movie, my eyes were starting to droop. When I looked over at Dallas, about to ask him if he wanted to go to the mall instead, I saw he was fast asleep. He drooled slightly and I giggled. He was really cute. I was lucky to have him. I should reconsider this love thing, maybe I do love him, I'm just afraid to admit it. I'm sure of it now; I love Dallas Smith.

I heard a gentle buzz from on the coffee table, mistaking it for my own phone, I grabbed it. I then realized my phone was still in my lap. I glanced at Dallas. Well, it's not like he'll care if I read his messages. He reads mine all the time! And plus, it's most likely his mom.

I unlocked the screen on his phone and went to the green bubble at the bottom of his screen. It immediately opened to a contact with the name Lila. My eyes fell upon her message and I felt my eye brows pull together.

_I had a great time last night. P.S. You're a great kisser :P_

I looked over at Dallas before quickly locking his phone and setting it back on the table. I looked back at the screen of Edward and Bella, playing with my fingers. I pretended to have never seen what I saw.

**. . . . **

**"**That was great, Ally," Austin said, grinning over at me. We'd finished another song and I'll admit it, I was proud of it, but I just wasn't feeling anything tonight. I felt numb, which was odd. I never felt that way when writing music.

I nodded, "Yeah, it was."

Austin leaned over a little more, as if trying to read my face better. I turned away a little more, pretending to do it subconsciously, but I actually didn't want him reading any of the expressions on my face because I had a feeling he'd figure me out.

"Is something wrong, Ally?" he asked.

I looked at him and smiled, "No, why?"

"I don't know," he shrugged, "For a moment there, you seemed a little lost. But you seem okay now," he said. I nodded, keeping the grin on my lips.

"To be honest, I'm really nervous about performing at the Grammy's," I admitted to him. Maybe that was why I felt distant from my music: anxiety.

He smiled over at me, laughing slightly, "Why? You literally have nothing to be afraid of. You have so many people voting for you, you're a wonderful musician and you have an amazing talent. Somebody like you should never be nervous. You're good at what you do."

I felt my lips curl into a grin, "That's the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me," Austin smiled, but I ruined our moment when I blurted, "Actually Dallas said the nicest thing to me."

Austin's expression seem to contort for some reason, "Really? What'd he say?"

"He told me he loved me," I said. The thought of it seemed to put a smile on my lips. I forgot about everything that happened yesterday with the text and what Kira had said.

"Oh," Austin said. He waited a moment before asking, "Do you love him, too?"

"I think so," I replied, my smile widening. Austin avoided eye contact and nodded, taking a deep breath.

"That's awesome. Um," he glanced at his phone, "my Mom made pancakes tonight so I've really gotta get going, I'm starving."

He wouldn't look at me. "Oh, right, yeah. Save me one?" I winked.

"Don't count on it," he replied, jokingly, but his tone was lower than normal. I still giggled and waved goodbye until he was out of the practice room. I sat down on the bench and bit the inside of my cheek. That was really weird.

**...**

Two weeks had gone by and the Grammy's were next week. I still hadn't picked a song. I posted on Tweeter for requests but none of them satisfied me. Austin attempted to help me pick one, as did Trish and Dez, Dallas too, but nothing. I wasn't feeling any of them. And to make it worse, Dallas had been disappearing a lot lately. Randomly leaving on me or not calling me. More suspicions about him sneaking around with other girls had been thrown in my face again by Kira, twice by Trish, and a million times by some of the fans sending me messages through Tweeter and facebook. I ignored them all, but the suspicions were rising in myself; but I wouldn't accept it.

"That sounds really good, Als," Dallas said. I turned around on the piano bench and laughed.

"Hey, I didn't even know you came in," I told him. He nodded before his smile broadened. He sat down beside me.

"Teach me to play," he said. I looked at him surprised.

"You want to learn how to play?" I asked him.

"Well, yeah. It's something you enjoy and you always look...the most beautiful when you play the piano," I fought a blush, "I want to see what it is that you enjoy."

"Well, ok," I caved making him laugh. I showed him where to set his hands and I could feel his eyes on me as I did so. "Pay attention," I said without glancing at him. He laughed his beautiful laugh. I gave him a lesson on something simple, but he definitely sucked for a good ten minutes which caused a lot of laughter up here in the Practice Room until finally he hit a decent note. "See! There you go!"

"I'll never be like you," he said, grinning. "You play piano like it's nobody's business."

"I've been playing since I was five and you've been playing for ten minutes. There's a huge difference," I giggled.

"Show me how you write a song," he said.

"Well," I began, "I start with a melody." My fingers met the keys until I felt a good melody, "then the words come in," I said, "_and I could tell you / his favourite colors green / he loves to argue / born on the seventeenth / his sister's beautiful / he has his father's eyes / and if you asked me if i loved him / i'd lie._"

"Was that one about me?" he questioned and I realized that our faces were inches apart.

"Maybe," I smirked at him, before his lips met mine but the text on his phone flashed into my mind. I pulled away. He raised his eye brows. "Don't you want to learn more piano?" I pushed that negative thought about him to the back of my mind. He laughed. I showed him more notes.

About an hour later his phone vibrated and he looked at it."Ah, I'm sorry, Ally, I've got to go. My mom needs help selling her paintings." I nodded.

"Oh, yeah, go ahead," I told him. He nodded, kissing my forehead.

"I love you, Ally and I don't lie," he flashed a grin. I laughed, pointing at him in appraisal because I caught his pun that referenced to my song. He took off out the store and I felt a sense of loneliness set in. I didn't want to deal with it or my thoughts that kept sweeping in about that text from yesterday, so I focused on some songwriting instead.

It was nearly an hour and a half later when my phone began to ring, "Hello?"

"Ally, hey," Anne's voice rang into my ears. I looked up from my songbook and stared at the wall in confusion.

"Anne?" I said.

"Yes, expecting someone else?" she laughed. I laughed slightly, too.

"Are you and Dallas done with selling already? It's only been a little over an hour," I said, looking at the watch that was wrapped around my left wrist.

"Selling? What are you talking about?" she questioned. Now she was the confused one.

"Well, Dallas said you texted him and he needed to help you sell paintings...?" I frowned.

"Uh...Not that I remember," she replied and I felt my heart sink.

"Oh," I said quietly.

"I was actually calling because I needed to know if he was with you," she said, "He told me he was taking you out to that party down by the beach."

"...No...I, uh, I guess I wasn't invited," I replied.

"Hm, maybe he decided to stay at home. I'll call you another time, Ally. Take care!" she said, hanging up. I stayed on the line for a few extra seconds before pulling the phone away from my ear before pressing the END CALL button. The pieces of my heart were slowly breaking off, bit by bit.

I wondered if everything people were saying about Dallas was true. Maybe he was sneaking around with other girls. But how? He still tells me he loves me and I always still believe him. He's convincing. Nobody sneaking around can be as convincing as him, can they? But if it was true, what was taking him so long? Just break my heart already, because I don't want it to happen slowly although it already is.

I found myself dialing a number. "YO!"

I was surprised. "Dallas?"

"ALLY, HEY!" he was yelling over the music, "UM, WHAT'S UP?"

"You didn't sell paintings with your mom," I said, picking at the edge of my songbook. I heard his surroundings get quieter until I could only hear the light hum of a bass. He must've gone somewhere private.

"Yeah, she didn't need my help after all," he said.

"I talked to her. She had no clue what I was saying." I said.

"You called my mom on me?" he questioned, sounding angry.

"No, she called me wanting to know where you were," I said, standing up and running my fingers through my hair. "Where are you?"

"I, uh, I'm at the beach. There's a concert. From that new band...um, 5 Seconds of Summer?" he said. I nodded slowly.

"You didn't want me to join you? It would have been fun," I managed to pull my lips up into a smile.

"It's just, uh, no, I thought you needed your own time with music," he said.

"Dallas," a voice in the back ground. Actually, double that, there was two voices in the background. Both light and higher, they were girls. I took a deep breath.

"Lila, Beth, I'm on the phone with Ally," he said. My eyes started to burn when I heard the name of Lila. I caught a few other texts from her a few days ago as well. They hadn't stopped talking it seemed.

"This doesn't make sense," I said, shaking my head, "You left and told me you had to help your mom sell her paintings and now you're telling me you're at a concert on the beach and didn't invite me because you thought I had to work. Why didn't you just tell me you were going to the concert?"

"I didn't want to hurt your feelings," he said. "I'm sorry, Als."

"It's alright," but it wasn't. Because now I knew. I knew everything; the truth. Kira was right, Trish was, the fans were, my gut was right. He didn't love me. He was a fame-hungry boy who only wanted the spotlight. "I've got to go."

"Wait, Are you mad?" he questioned.

_Yes. _"No."

"Alright. I'll see you tomorrow, Als." he said. I nodded and he was the first to hang up. I took a deep breath and hung up the phone.

**. . . . . . . **

I opened the front door to Trish's and let myself inside. Dez and Trish were arguing from across the table and Austin was holding his head, massaging his temples. I looked over and saw their monopoly game. Typical.

I was still biting my lip, forcing it not to quiver. I couldn't believe it. I knew I didn't love Dallas and I forced myself to fall for him. With all of that forcing, I ended up actually falling for him truly and now my heart was broken.

"Ally! You're back!" Trish shrieked, "You would not believe what Dez did!"

"I bet I won't," I replied, pleased when my voice came back strong. She glared over at Dez and he glared back. Austin rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna go to bed," I pointed towards my room, my lips pressed together.

Dez looked at the clock and then back at me, "It's 7:30, Ally. You can't possibly be tired."

"I am. I've been thinking about the Grammy's lots," I replied and they all nodded understandingly. I couldn't believe I snuck that lie in there. All I knew was that I needed to get to my guitar, because there was a song that needed to be put to music.

I got to my room, shutting the door. I placed my palm on my forehead and shut my eyes. I sniffled and realized the tears that pooled on my cheeks. I'm the stupidest person to ever walk this planet. I shake my head and wiped the tears.

I grabbed my guitar and sat on my bed. Dez and Trish kept arguing while I strummed a few notes. Suddenly, my heart took over my hands and I was playing a beautiful melody and I couldn't hear their arguing anymore; it wasn't just the music, they had completely stopped. I reached into my pocket and pulled out the notepaper that had words scribbled all over it. I began to sing.

_I like the way you wanted me_

_Every night for so long baby_

_I like the way you needed me_

_Every time things got rocky_

_I was believing in you_

_Was I mistaken, do you mean_

_Do you mean what you say_

_When you say our love could last forever_

_(Chorus)_

_But I'd rather you be mean than love and lie_

_I'd rather hear the truth than have to say goodbye_

_I'd rather take a blow at least then I would know_

_But baby don't you break my heart slow_

_I like the way you'd hold me_

_Every night for so long baby_

_I like the way you'd sing to me_

_Every time things got rocky_

_I was believing in you_

_Was I mistaken do you say_

_Do you say what you mean_

_When you say our love could last forever_

_(Chorus)_

_Cause I'd rather you be mean than love and lie_

_I'd rather hear the truth and have to say goodbye_

_I'd rather take a blow at least then I would know_

_But baby don't you break my heart slow_

_(Bridge)_

_You would run around and lead me on forever_

_While I stay at home still thinking we're together_

_I wanted our love to last forever_

_(Chorus)_

_But I'd rather you be mean than love and lie_

_I'd rather hear the truth and have to say goodbye_

_I'd rather take a blow at least then I would know_

_But baby don't you break my heart slow_

_Baby don't you break my heart slow_

[ Austin ]

I watched Ally walk into her room. There was something different about her tonight. She wasn't giggly and smiley. She looked down. Dez and Trish were too far into the argument to notice.

Dez and Trish dived back into the argument, ignoring the small notes that Ally was strumming inside her room until finally it become a loud chord and the melody broke through. I smiled slightly. Trish and Dez stopped arguing because the sound of Ally's guitar was distracting.

"Can we please get back to the game?" I questioned, arching my eye brows. Trish grumbled under her breath, taking her seat again and we started to play. I was about to shake the dice when Ally began to sing. It was slow and sad and it made us all listen.

"She knows," Trish whispered, a trace of tears in her eyes by the time the chorus rolled around for the third time.

"Knows what?" I asked, curiously and worriedly.

"Dallas was sneaking around with other girls. Everyone's been telling her and she hasn't believed anyone. Well, until now," she said sadly. I could see the look of sorrow on her face for her best friend. My heart hurt for Ally. I was angry at Dallas now, but we shut up and listened to the rest of the song. It was beautiful.

She strummed the chord one last time and then it was silent. There was the muffled sound of a sob that couldn't be held in anymore and with that, Trish was bolting to Ally's room. I wanted to go too, but I knew Ally only needed her best friend right now.

"Poor Ally," Dez murmured. I was surprised that it came from Dez, but I nodded anyways.

"I knew he was going to do this," I growled, flicking my game player across the table. The sobbing got a little bit louder, I figured Trish was hugging her now. I grimaced. Ally crying always upset me.

I found myself shuffling towards her door. It was open half way and I spotted Trish's arms wrapped around my Ally. She murmured soothing things to her best friend, stroking her back comfortingly. My jaw clenched as I thought of what Dallas did.

I was about to knock on the door frame, but I stopped when Ally began to talk. "But the worst part is," she blubbered, "We're not even broken up yet." My heart sank into my stomach, where the acids of my belly churned and ate through it.

"_What?!" _Trish shrieked, "What do you mean you two haven't broken up yet?"

"I mean, we're still together, but," sniffle, "it's not going to last long obviously. I'll have to break it off sometime."

I felt guilty when that made me feel better, but Ally doesn't deserve to be hurt like this. She's got a warm, fuzzy personality - despite our recent conflicts. She's smart, sweet, talented, kind, funny when she doesn't try, stoic, loving, warm, etc. She's so many things.

"Well, you better, Ally!" Trish replies, scowling down at her best friend, "He's doesn't deserve you. If he loved you, he wouldn't sneak around with other girls and lie to you!" I glared at Trish because that was the wrong thing to say to Ally. She started to sob again, clutching Trish tighter. Trish grimaced. "I'm sorry, Ally, I just mean...I don't want you to hurt like this ever again and all he has ever done is hurt you. You need to get rid of him."

Ally nodded, "I know," she pulls away, running the back of her hand under her nose and then rubbing away her tears with her palms. I stepped back so she wouldn't see me eavesdropping. They started talking to each other softly, Trish encouraging her through her rough time and Ally crying softly. Finally, I stepped forward, knocking on the door frame.

Ally and Trish both turned to look at me. Ally immediately looked away from me, letting her hair drop in front of her face. I frowned. She should know she didn't have to be embarrassed. Trish smiled softly at me, like she was glad I was there. "I'll make you hot chocolate with a side of pickles," Ally managed a soft laugh while Trish walked past me, nudging me as she did so.

Ally took a deep breath but it drew in shaky. I stepped inside a little further. "Is everything okay?" I asked her. She looked at me with a sarcastic yet embarrassed smile as she gestured to her face. I sighed. "What happened?"

Ally shook her head, "Nothing."

"I heard the song," I retorted.

She stared at her feet, not saying anything else. I opened my arms, offering comfort. I expected her to decline my offer but she didn't hesitate before letting her body fall towards me as I wrapped my arms around her. She fit perfectly.

"I'm really stupid," she mumbled into my chest.

"No, you're not. You're the smartest girl I know," I replied. She shook her head.

"Not when it comes to real life," she said, "I'm like a wide-eyed dreamer and that's it."

"Makes for good songs, doesn't it?" I teased her. I sucked in a breath, hoping it didn't come out mocking, but I relaxed when I heard her laugh gently.

She sighed sadly, "I really am stupid. I went for somebody like Dallas when I already knew it was because he wanted my spotlight, but I still fell for him anyways. I let you go, I moved away instead of dealing with it," I felt my breath catch in my throat as I listened to her. "I kept blaming you for everything that happened between you and I, when the truth is, it was all my fault."

"It wasn't, Ally," I assured her, "We were both wrong."

"But I moved away-"

"-Your record deal caused you to move to L.A.," I reminded her. She sighed, maybe realizing I was right. "I'm sorry, Ally. For everything."

Ally looked at me and I mean _really _looked at me. We've been face to face, but finally, it was like we were eye to eye. "I'm sorry, too." I think my heart skipped a beat. "But things will never be the way they used to," she lowered her eyes and focused on my chest.

I didn't let my heart drop into my stomach, not this time. "They can be."

"How?" she questioned, "it's not like we can pick up where we left off. I live in L.A., you're in Miami. We can't be partners. And you have Craig."

"Maybe we can't pick up to where we left off, but we can start new. New and better. We know now, Ally," I said, holding my breath. "We don't have to be partners, Ally. We can just be friends," I chewed on that word. Friends, right. That's it, Austin. That's all you will ever be, for the rest of your life: Friends.

Her lips curled into a crooked grin, "Friends?" she held out her hand when I went in for a hug. It wasn't awkward like it was years ago, it was funny and we laughed. I lifted my hand, agreeing to shake hers at the same time she opened her arms. She looked at me. She grabbed my hands and opened them, then wrapped her small arms around my torso. I obliged, hugging her back.

"But what's Austin and Ally without a partnership?" she questioned, looking up at me. I looked down at her. That was something we'd have to work past. Because it didn't matter how long it was that we weren't friends, Craig's name still didn't feel like it fit in those lyric booklets, because that's where Ally's name was supposed to be written in.

"I don't know," I murmured, "We'll figure it out." I promised her. She nodded. That's when I realized her eyes were dry. She wasn't crying anymore. _Because of me. _One half of her heart was still broken, but the other half was repaired.

That's when we jumped apart, hearing the sound of Trish shrieking in joy and Dez telling her to calm down, although there was a sound of joy in his voice as well. They'd eavesdropped on us. Ally and I laughed.

Austin and Ally were back.

**. . . . .**

**I don't know if Ally and Dallas's relationship ended too fast, but I sorta wanted to get rid of Dallas. So...Boom. He's almost out of the story; Almost. **


	13. Chapter 13 : Dear John

I shuffled my feet, shifting from side to side before I finally gathered enough courage to press my finger against the doorbell. I waited for two long beats until the door opened. There was Dallas, looking disheveled from sleep. He ran the back of his hand across his eyes. "Ally?" he groaned, sleep tagged in his voice.

"Yeah," I murmured. I avoided looking at him too much; it hurt.

"What's up?" he mumbled, trying to stifle a yawn, "It's only..." he leaned backwards to look at the clock on his wall. His eyes grew a little bigger, "Oh, it's noon." he gave me a sheepish smile, "Sorry. Come in."

"No, it's fine. This will only take a minute," I bit on the inside of my cheek. He arched a brow.

"I can make you coffee?" he offered.

I closed my eyes for a second before reopening them. "Dallas," I started, "There's a few things you need to know about me: 1) I like to write music because it heals me, not because I want to be famous. 2)I started writing music notes when I was five, I started writing songs when I was about seven. 3) My parents divorced when I was nine. 4) I won the sixth grade talent show. 5) I don't like horror movies or deep romantic ones 6) Twilight was an awful movie," Dallas's face that was grinning slightly started to contort into a look of confusion. But I continued, "7) I don't like gross nicknames like baby or babe or even sweetheart. 8) I hated that you talked for so long on our first date, the one that I actually never agreed to. 9) I will never write a song for you, it'll always be for me and 10) I _don't _like coffee."

Dallas stared at me for a long moment, "You lost me." he said.

I sighed and dared to ask, "Dallas, what did you think of me in high school?"

"What?" he laughed slightly. I gave him a look. "Well, I...I don't know. You never really crossed my mind - I mean, I had a girlfriend and I was on the Football Team. You were always into math and..." he crinkled his nose, "you tutored instead of going to the movies. You were kind of a geek," he grinned at me. It was like he thought he was teasing me but I knew it was the truth.

"And what did you think of me when I came back?" I questioned.

His face brightened. "You were _so different_! You have awesome music, last year you won 3 Teen Choice Awards and 4 Kids Choice Awards! Oh, and you won an award for People's Choice Awards, too! You went on a tour! You were having meet and greets. You write really good songs. You had a new body," his eyes got slightly lusty but I ignored it, "I don't know, you were just different. You were like the improved, confident Ally!"

"So, you saw me because I was on the covers of magazines...because I was famous?" I quizzed him, my voice getting softer. He scrunched his nose.

"Ally, what are you talking about?" he asked.

"You know nothing about me, Dallas. We've been together for about five months and I don't think we can go on any longer," I finally said.

He looked so insulted. "What?" I nodded, swallowing down hard. "Ally, Are you...breaking up with me?" I hesitated before nodding again. "Why?"

"Dallas, you don't know anything about me or my background besides what's been written in a magazine. I can tell that you don't like my friends. You only noticed me because I got famous; if I was never famous, you still wouldn't see me or ever notice me. I crushed on you so hard in high school and I always waited for you to notice me, but you never did until I got famous. Dallas, I know about you and those girls."

He looked like he didn't know how to respond. He just stared back at me and I think I saw guilt in his gaze but I didn't hold our stare long enough to see. I stared down at my feet, which were pressed together.

"That's why I'm breaking up with you. You never liked me for me, it was just because I'm famous and I can see that now. We just..." I finally looked back at him, knowing that I needed to do this properly, "We just won't work out. I'm sorry, but it's over. We're over." I turned around to begin walking away when he suddenly started talking.

"Oh, great," he laughed bitterly. I was taken aback. "So, you going to go out and write a little song for me now?" _That was new. Last I checked, he wanted me to write a song about him._

I stopped and looked over my shoulder. "I've never written a song for anyone, Dallas. They've all been for me." _Excluding Austin. _

"Don't you dare write a song about this!" he glowered at me. "Ally, we need to talk about this!" he finally said pleadingly. I shook my head, turning back to him again.

"There's nothing to talk about; you were sneaking around and I don't want anything to do with you." I told him as I shook my head.

"What about the Grammy's!?" he blurted._ I_ _nearly forgot._

I looked at him and noticed his regretful gaze. "I'm a little nervous." I admitted to him, "And you're invited. I invited you after I found out about you and that Lila girl." Dallas looked rather shocked. I turned around and started walking away. He didn't even call after me. He just let me go.

I left Dallas and his cheating butt behind me.

**. . . . . . . .**

"You're looking nervous," my Dad told me. I looked at him and laughed slightly. I was just putting in my earplugs when I'd seen him, so I let them hang around my neck. I fumbled the microphone in my hands, staring down at it. Today was the Grammy's and I was backstage getting ready.

I'd flown here, to L.A., with Trish, Austin, Dez, and my Dad. We'd gotten here yesterday so I was able to sneak in some resting-time. I didn't know if Dallas decided to show, but I'm sure he did and I bet he brought his _little secret's_ with him.

"You could say that," I giggled.

"Don't be," he told me. "You're a natural talent, Ally. You were invited to perform here for a reason. By the way, Did I tell you how proud I am?"

"More than once," I chirped. He laughed and gave me a hug. I wrapped my arms around my father, dwelling in the comfort. We would have said more but one of the stage manager's came rushing towards me and spilled the details that I was to be on stage in five minutes.

My Dad dismissed himself to get back to his seat. I popped in my earplugs and played with my hair, which was styled in soft curls and was pinned to one side, it lay limp on my right shoulder. I really liked my dress. Trish bought it with me. It was a last minute buy, too. It was purple with silver sparkles that decorated the dress in a cool design by the waist, it was strapless and fit my body tightly. I wore silver high heels with it. My earrings were diamonds and -

"Ally, You're due on stage!" the stage manager told me and I nodded, letting him lead me towards the entrance. My stomach was bubbling with anxiety but I focused on my fans who were deliberately waiting out there or behind their TV screens for me to perform.

The host introduced me to the stage and there was a loud applause for me, whoop's and screams, whistles and shouts. It made me feel so alive. That's why I loved performing. I felt so alive and like I connected with my fans.

The stage was dark and I prayed that I wouldn't trip. I took my place on the stage, sitting down on the stairs where I was told my performance would look best. I glanced at the crowd who I could not see just yet, only the light's of cell phones.

Finally, the stage slowly lit up now that I had taken place and I heard the applause again, only ten times louder now that they could actually see me. The spotlight shone down on me with heat. I heard the sound of the instruments play very softly. I gripped my microphone tightly in my hand and brought it to my lips.

_"Long were the nights when_

_My days once revolved around you_

_Counting my footsteps_

_Praying the floor won't fall through, again_

_And my mother accused me of losing my mind_

_But I swore I was fine_

_You paint me a blue sky_

_And go back and turn it to rain_

_And I lived in your chess game_

_But you changed the rules everyday_

_Wonderin' which version of you I might get on the phone, tonight_

_Well I stopped pickin' up and this song is to let you know why_

_Dear John, I see it all now that you're gone._

_Don't you think I was too young_

_To be messed with?_

_The girl in the dress_

_Cried the whole way home, I should've known._

_Well maybe it's me_

_And my blind optimism to blame_

_Or maybe it's you and your sick need_

_To give love then take it away_

_And you'll add my name to your long list of traitors who don't understand_

_And I'll look back in regret how I ignored when they said,_

_"Run as fast as you can."_

_Dear John, I see it all now that you're gone._

_Don't you think I was too young_

_To be messed with?_

_The girl in the dress_

_Cried the whole way home_

_Dear John, I see it all now it was wrong_

_Don't you think nineteen's too young_

_To be played by your dark, twisted games?_

_When I loved you so, I should've known."_

As the music grew louder and I was able to take a pause from singing. I got up from where I was sitting and carefully walked down the stairs towards the centre of the stage, earning myself a loud cheer from my very trusty friends and fans.

_"You are an expert at "Sorry"_

_And keeping lines blurry_

_Never impressed by me acing your tests_

_All the girls that you've run dry have tired lifeless eyes_

_Cause you've burned them out_

_But I took your matches_

_Before fire could catch me_

_So don't look now_

_I'm shining like fireworks_

_Over your sad empty town," _

I heard the sound of the loud, colorful fireworks popping behind me. The applause and shouts were loud and full of excitement and surprise.

_"Dear John, I see it all now that you're gone._

_Don't you think I was too young_

_To be messed with?_

_The girl in the dress_

_Cried the whole way home_

_I see it all now that you're gone_

_Don't you think I was too young_

_To be messed with?_

_The girl in the dress_

_Wrote you a song, you should've known._

_You should've known_

_Don't you think I was too young?_

_You should've known."_

I was applauded loudly, people whistling and clapping, shouting and screaming. I felt a grin curl onto my lips as I stared at the crowd. I let them cheer me on for a few long moments before I put the microphone to my lips, "Wow, thank you so much!" I grinned, "It was an honor to perform here tonight. Thank you for having me tonight and screaming for me! It means the world to me! Once again, Thank you!" I waved at the crowd and exited the stage once the lights went out.

**. . . . . **

I had changed my dress and was now wearing another one; it was black and had only one shoulder strap. It also fit my body tightly with ruffles and a belt that wrapped around my tiny waist.

I had joined the crowd and I was receiving a lot of 'congratulations' and 'good job's'. When I reached my seat, Austin, Dez, and Trish were ecstatic for me and wrapped their arms around me, hugging me tightly. I giggled, hugging them back. My parents were crying out of pride as they wrapped me up in their arms as well.

The night had dragged on but we gave a few laughs here and there. Finally, they were announcing Favourite Female Artist Of The Year and I was bloody-well scared. If I didn't win that was okay, a little disappointing, but I'd be fine, just the nomination was good enough to win. But then if I won, heck, I don't know what I would do. I didn't prepare a speech.

"You're nominees are: Katy Perry, Rihanna, Kelly Clarkson, Ally Dawson, Beyonce, and Lorde!" I noticed my picture go up on the big screen along with the other nominees, waiting for the reactions of the star who was to win this nomination. I was sure it was Beyonce. That woman was phenomenal and I'm a big fan.

"The _Favourite Female Artist Of The Year_ goes to..." the host flipped the card ever so slowly. She grinned wide and leaned forward to speak into the microphone, "Ally Dawson!"

My heart wasn't beating anymore. My hand reached up to cup my mouth as I reeled from shock. Tears filled my eyes. Trish jumped in excitement, gasping loudly. She had to nudge me to get me to finally stand up and when I did, she stood with me, grasping me in a warm embrace and then telling me to get to the stage.

My hand was still on my mouth as I made my way towards the stage. I was so shocked I couldn't even respond to some of the other music artists who called for me and told me that I deserved it. I couldn't even thank them for the congratulations they were sending me.

When my hand finally dropped to my side, I realized I was shaking. I was so honored, I didn't even know what to say. I made my way up the steps of the stage and took the award, holding it in my shaky hands. I was pulled into a hug by the host who laughed and told me I did an amazing job earlier and she also congratulated me on my win.

I went to the microphone and saw all the eyes on me. I think I'm sweating. "Oh my Gosh," was the first thing out of my mouth, earning me thousands of chuckles, "Whoa. Wow. I don't know what to say," I told the crowd, speaking my mind. "I didn't even...I didn't prepare a speech," I added and I earned loud laughs for that one. "I guess...I guess I'm going to start off with a fat _thank you! _This means so much. It feels like yesterday I was just writing songs on my bedroom floor (and I probably was, too)," everyone laughed again, "but now I'm standing here in front of all of you and I'm holding this award in my hands that means...some of you..._actually voted for me_!" You could hear the breathlessness in my tone. It made a lot of people laugh. My shock was not hidden. "Thank you...just thank you so much. I'm gonna cry, gosh," I said, my eyes were full of tears, "Wow. I mean, this...this is a Grammy," I pointed at the object and everyone laughed again, "Wow...Thank you...Thank you to everyone! Thank you to my fans, my family, my three best friends," I glanced towards the Latina, blonde, and red-head sitting in the seats nearest to the front row. They smiled widely. "Thank you to Ronnie for signing me! I even want to thank my kindergarten teacher who let me write my very first song when I was seven! Actually, I want to thank the whole world! Thank you everyone, even if I don't know you, I want to thank you! Just for...just for being here and watching me accept this award. I'm so honored. Thank you so much!" I think my voice cracked near the end. I got a loud applause and hugged the host one last time before walking back to my seat, shaking people's hands who offered me their congratulations.

Austin was first up to give me a hug when I got back to my seat. I embraced him tightly. "I didn't want to say it up there, but thank you," I whispered into his ear so only he could hear, "for getting me over my stage fright. You're the whole reason I was on the stage tonight and the only reason I got my award."

I felt him grin and he kissed my head lightly. My face flush before returning to my seat, unable to stop smiling.

**. . . . . . **

"I'm so proud of you!" Austin bellowed as he walked into the practice room. I was sitting at the piano. I wasn't writing songs or playing notes, I was just staring at the keys in amazement. I was four when I wanted to learn and five when I was able to actually play. I never imagined this day and I was thankful that it happened.

"Thank you," I grinned at him. He hugged me tightly, nearly picking me up from the ground. "I couldn't have done it without you." I told him.

He looked at me sincerely, "Yes you could have. With or without me, you would have over-come your stage fright. I know you."

And it hit me then, stealing the breath from my lungs. There was no one who knew me more than Austin. All of this time, I've been looking for somebody who knew me like the back of their hand and the boy I was looking for was standing right here the whole time.

"Ally?" he said, laughing slightly.

"Sorry. Still in shock." I said and he laughed, hugging me again. I was frozen for a moment before I hugged him back.

I realized two things tonight:

1) Dreams can become your reality

and 2) I was in love with Austin Moon.

**I didn't proof read this, so ignore any grammatical errors, thank you! **


	14. Chapter 14: Fearless

"I was thinking maybe it could go like this," Ally said, letting her fingers roam piano keys. Austin nodded his head, though he was unable to take his eyes off of her. He wondered what state he was in when he'd ever let her go. For all he knows, he and Ally could've been together right now, heck, even engaged - Ok, he doesn't want to think about marriage right now, he's only nineteen.

"Yeah," he managed to strangle out passed the throbbing of his heart. Which seemed to be happening a lot. His heart palpitations only ever happened when Ally was around. He felt like he was seventeen again.

He was pulled out of his thoughts when Ally sang along to the melody, matching pitch with the piano, "_If they wanna hate, let them hate / 'Cause it don't matter what they say / They don't know about us / They don't know about us / they don't know about us."_

Ally's fingers stopped as did her voice, "How was that?" she turned to Austin suddenly. He quickly averted his eyes to the piano keys, pretending as if he wasn't just watching her.

"That was awesome," Austin said, cringing as he wondered if he said it too quickly. Ally didn't seem to notice, because she grinned and fixed the ring on her index finger before putting her hands back into position and finishing off the song.

They went through routine; writing, playing, adjusting, and then telling each other what how great the song they'd just written was. "We're almost done the album, aren't you excited?" Ally questioned, a light in her eyes.

"Totally excited!" _No, because that means you're leaving, _Austin thought to himself.

Ally frowned and cocked her head to the side, "Are you okay, Austin?" Austin's heart beat got faster to the point he started to feel dizzy. He looked at her and faked confusion as he nodded.

"Yeah, why? Are you?" he replied.

"I'm fine," she studied his face. "But you're...different. You seem, I don't know, uptight?" she guessed. He swallowed thickly and forced a grin.

"I'm not uptight," he tried to assure her, but his voice raised in pitch which was a clear indicator and that he was feeling very uptight.

"What happened?" she turned to him, guiding her full attention onto him. To be honest, this made Austin very nervous but he pulled through.

"Nothing happened, Ally," he pulled a chuckle from his vocal chords, hoping it would work and she would stop asking, but she knew him like the back of her hand. "I'm always like this when finished an album," he admitted, "I love making the music, the excitement. I'm happy that it gets done and it's successful, but it's always a shame to know that I won't be composing for a while."

"Lie." Ally deadpanned.

Austin let out a sigh, "Ally-"

"Don't _Ally _me! Tell me what's going on in that head of yours," she said to him, not letting her gaze slip from his once.

"It's the truth, Ally," he told her.

"Really, because you loved finishing albums before," she gave him a pointed look. He stared at her and couldn't find it in him to pass out a bitter remark about things changing because he knew that would only get him no where except into a new, uncomfortable conflict with Ally.

"It's the truth," he said again, "But it's this album that I don't want to stop writing." Austin's palms were beginning to sweat. Ally watched his face and saw the way he avoided looking at her, that was how she knew it was the truth. Austin wasn't big on talking about his feelings but when he did, he almost always avoided eye contact.

Ally had to ask: "_Why_ is _this_ album so hard to stop writing?"

Austin didn't reply for a moment, but then spoke up, "You know that I like writing with you...After this album is finished, you're going to go back to L.A. and get back to your own music...And this stuff will never happen again."

Ally felt her heart lurch. She worried about the exact same thing. "Well, I'll still see you. When I tour and come back to Miami or when we have to do interviews and promotions for our album. And we're friends again; we'll visit each other. Trish still visited me when I was in L.A."

"It's not the same, Ally," Austin's voice had a cold piece of thick ice in it. Ally didn't say anything.

When the silence was too much to hold onto, Ally said, "You're thinking too far ahead, Austin. We haven't even finished the album yet or recorded it. Then interviews, promotions, talk shows, photoshoots. We've still got time."

"I don't want us to have a time limit," Austin blurted before he could even think about what he'd said. There was a vast silence between the two musicians. Austin was about to apologize (he'd didn't know why though, because it was the truth) but then the Practice Room door swung open and there appeared Trish with two people, one held a camera and one held a recording device.

"Here she is," Trish said, grinning, absentminded to the tension in the room. "Ally, This is Kat. She wants to do an article on your Grammy win."

Ally didn't know why; the Grammy's had happened a month ago. She guessed it must have still been the talk of the media. Ally glanced over at Austin; their conversation wasn't over and she hated to leave an important conversation hanging, but she looked back to the interview and forced a smile. She nodded. "Yeah. Of course."

Austin was staring down at the piano keys when he felt Ally get up from the piano bench and follow the interviewer out of the Practice Room. He glanced over and saw Ally's book still sitting on the table. He studied her writing. He didn't know how she wrote so neatly.

"Oh, man," Trish suddenly said.

"Did you interrupt an important conversation? Check." Austin replied. Trish looked up from her hand and stared at the back of his blonde head.

"Actually I was talking about my nail - I just broke it," she said, "But I did _what?!"_

He shook his head, "Nothing." He felt so defeated. He wondered if the world hated him.

"No! What happened? What was the conversation? Did you tell her how you feel?" Trish bombarded his mind with questions. Austin shook his head.

"No, I didn't and I'm not telling you the conversation," he told her. Trish grabbed his earlobe and twisted it forwards. Austin gripped the piano for help as he screamed.

"Tell me," Trish growled.

"Ok, ok, ok!" he howled.

Trish smiled in satisfaction and released his ear. "Good."

He glared at Trish before twisting around on the piano bench and looking at her. "I admitted that I didn't want to finish the album because I wanted more time with her."

She rose a brow, "But you guys won't be finished for like another couple of months?"

"That's when she said!" Austin grunted before adding, "Speaking of time, I then ended up telling her that I didn't want us to have a time limit."

Trish couldn't help her grin as she laid her palm over her heart, "Aw!" she cooed.

Austin gave Trish a dead look. "No, it's not 'Aw!' because she didn't even reply! I think I freaked her out. We didn't even get to clear the air because you walked in with that stupid Kat girl."

"Sorry," Trish apologized, wanting to shrink under his stare.

Austin shook his head and sighed, "Don't worry about it. I think I just ruined our friendship."

"Maybe she felt the same way. Maybe she doesn't want you guys to have a time limit either," Trish told him comfortingly.

"Why can't things just be simple between us? For once?" Austin questioned, angrily and frustrated.

"Because life's not simple," Trish replied. Austin looked at her. Trish quickly said, "Ally told me that once."

"Figured." Austin said.

**. . .**

Ally was sitting in one of the beach chairs, discussing her Grammy with the interviewer. "I was very surprised at my win - I'm pretty sure my speech gave that much away," Ally said, grinning at the reporter but her smile felt fake. She couldn't get her mind off of her conversation with Austin.

"Alright, enough chit-chat about your Grammy. How is the album coming along? Are you two almost finished?" questioned Kat, the reporter.

Ally smirked, "I won't say."

Kat laughed in response but poked at it again, "Oh, come on, just a small detail. It doesn't even have to be much. Just a simple yes or no."

"I don't know, to be honest," Ally said, "We've written a lot of amazing songs that I'm quite proud of. But things happen to get in the way." Kat looked at her questioningly. Ally didn't want to mention her and Austin's conversations, or even her feelings towards Austin that are now getting in the way of them finishing the album.

"Any specifics?"

Ally was getting annoyed but forced herself not to show it, so she giggled instead. "No, I won't say any specifics. But I'm sure Austin and I should be finishing up soon. Then we'll get to the studio and get them recorded. The album will be released before you know it!"

"Thanks for talking with us, Ally!" Kat said. She shared a few more words before finally ending the interview. Ally felt like she could actually breathe again. Ally looked up at the sky and saw the clouds were getting dark. The wind caught in her hair and Ally sighed. She knew it was going to rain. She better get back to Trish's.

Ally felt something wet on her forehead. She swiped at it and realized it was rain. She looked up at the sky and saw no blue in it whatsoever. Just lumpy, dark clouds. She groaned and tried to walk faster.

It wasn't even a minute later that the rain got heavier and continued to get heavier until it was pouring. She was wearing nothing more than her typical tight-fitting dress with a small jean jacket over her shoulders. She began to shiver and tried her best to jog, but she then made the decision not to when she nearly slipped on the sidewalk. Ally's face contorted into a frown and she trudged her way through puddles as she accepted the fact that she was going to be soaked by the time she reached Trish's.

"Ally!"

Ally heard her name being called faintly. She glanced around before finally noticing a black car slow down and drive at her walk pace. She looked over and saw a window rolled down and inside the car sat a beckoning blonde boy.

"Ally!" Austin shouted, trying to keep his eyes on the road while on her as well. Ally didn't stop moving.

"Don't splash me!" she cried out to him, gesturing to her already soaked body. Austin let out a laugh and shook his head.

"I won't! Get in the car! You're going to get soaked, Ally!" he told her, straining his voice over the sound of the rain slapping the pavement.

"You're about 18 million raindrops too late!" she replied.

"Wait, do you want to walk in the rain?" he questioned, stepping down on the gas and going faster so he was leaving her behind.

"No, no, no, no!" Ally called, picking up her pace and running for his car. Austin laughed, stopping his car and popping the unlock button. Ally opened the door and tossed herself inside his car.

Ally looked down at herself and saw just how wet she was. She looked at Austin and in unison they laughed. He pressed down on the gas, lurching his vehicle into motion. They fell into a comfortable silence, only visited by the sound of the rain pattering on the roof and the swish of Austin's windshield wipers.

Austin glanced over to Ally and saw her shivering as she tugged down on her dress as if pulling it down would make her warmer. Though at the same time he reached for the heat, Ally had made the decision she would do it herself and their hands ended up colliding. Austin glanced at Ally while she glanced to him and they both retracted their hands. Ally swallowed hard. Austin looked at her again and carefully yet quickly turned the knob on his heat and the car got a little warmer.

Austin cleared his throat, trying to get rid of the awkward air. "How was the interview?"

"Same as most; boring," she replied. He pursed his lips and nodded. They fell into another silence. That was when Ally realized just how far Trish's house was from the beach. It would've taken her _forever _to walk there.

Although Ally's teeth chattering had stopped, Austin noticed she was still shivering and shaking. "Here," he mumbled, reaching behind him and pulling up a jacket. He gave it to her, "This might help."

Ally took the jacket, unbuckled her seatbelt and slipped into her jacket before buckling her belt again. It smelt of Austin's cologne which made her relax into it slightly. "Thanks," she murmured. He nodded.

"About earlier-"

"-It's fine, Austin," Ally interrupted, "You don't have to explain yourself. I know what you meant."

"Do you?" he quizzed, looking into her eyes before looking back at the road. Ally realized he was taking the long way to Trish's house. He wanted to _talk. _It was unusual of him to want to discuss matters such as this one, so Ally figured she'd let him get whatever he needed off his chest.

Ally chewed on her bottom lip, waiting for him to say something. "Are we going to talk about it then? Or just sit in silence?" she blurted.

He took a deep breath, letting the air reach the bottom of his lungs before releasing it. "Ally, I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" she scrunched her nose in confusion.

"Yes. I'm sorry. For everything that ever happened between us. I should have never met with that new songwriter or gotten mad at you for your comment. We shouldn't have had that huge fight. It was stupid and it wasn't worth ending our partnership or friendship - not even our _relationship_."

Ally's breath got stuck in her throat. _Did he just mention...the thing? _she thought to herself.

"I missed you a lot. I made it out like I hated you and I was mad at you - I was very mad at you, but I never hated you. Not even once. I couldn't and still can't look at you and ever say that I hate/hated you. Because I don't. You're the most important and best thing to ever happen to me." Ally hoped she didn't cry. "I wasn't the same when you left, I didn't like performing as much, I didn't care about composing music, I hardly ever ate pancakes and I stopped going in the Practice Room because it reminded me of you." he admitted.

"You stopped eating pancakes?" Ally gawked.

"I know," Austin gave her a look like he couldn't believe it either. Ally felt awful. He sacrificed pancakes because he was so upset! Austin took another breath, "I guess the only thing I was really angry at you for, was the fact that I was different when you left. I guess what I'm trying to get at is: I'll never be me without you. Ok? Never." Ally stared at him and couldn't get herself to look away. She just nodded. Austin didn't feel like she quite understood what he was saying, so he continued, "My mom told me when I was a kid that when you fall in love with someone, you become one whole together. You're two individuals that just become one. Like two halves of a heart, make a full one. You and I, Ally, we were two people in this world, and one day I walked into your Dad's music store, I had no idea that you and I would ever become one together."

Ally couldn't feel her heart beating anymore; she figured it stopped. _Did he just tell her that he was in love with her?_

Now that Austin had started, he couldn't stop. He shook his head, "And you can't tell me that you were the same after you went to L.A. _without _me_. _You were different, right? You didn't do the things that you used to. Or even if you did, you didn't feel like you were yourself, right?" Ally swallowed hard, staring at the dashboard. It was like he was reading her heart like it was the morning newspaper. "That's because you and I are meant to be together. I'm not talking about this friendship bull-crap, Ally. I don't believe in fate so maybe it was God who brought me to you. I don't know. But you're meant for me and I'm meant for you. And if you tell me that that's not true, then God so help me, I'll make you believe that it's true."

_This boy could be an amazing writer if he just talked like this every day, _Ally thought.

Austin was finished. He'd admitted his feelings to his ex-songwriter and now he had nothing left to say. He was gripping the wheel tightly, anticipating her reply but Ally kept her mouth shut. She didn't want to say. Austin's heart was beating erratically against his chest. He swore that she could hear it, too.

"You're not going to say anything?" he finally blurted when the silence was too much for him. Ally stared at her hands that were still shaking, although this time they weren't shaking because she was cold, they were shaking because she was nervous. Austin gulped. Did he just admit his feelings to someone who didn't feel the same way? Everything he was afraid to have happen, just happened. But he didn't regret it. He didn't regret one word he'd just told her. He took the risk and that was good enough for him.

"Did you know when I was fifteen and I wanted to be famous, I prayed that I would meet someone who could help me make it happen. Someone who could change my life forever. I got up the next day and I met you. That has to count for something." Austin said, his voice weakening into a sound of desperation. He was so desperate for her to say something back. Something like: _"I feel the same way!"_

And Ally did. She felt the exact same way. Though, she didn't say it. What he'd just told her in the last two or three minutes penetrated her heart in ways that are not imaginable to the human eye. Her heart was bursting with love for this blonde boy. She was the writer, she needed to say something but her mouth just wouldn't move. She knew how she felt and she knew that she could tell him, but for some odd reason, she just didn't know how.

Finally she got words in her head, not just any set of words...lyrics.

_I wanna stay right here, in this passenger seat_

_You put your eyes on me,_

_*Take your chance, it's now*_

_Capture it, remember it._

"God, Ally, Just say something," Austin groaned, his knuckles white as his grip got even tighter. Ally was wondering if he was going to break the steering wheel. She felt her heart rate speed up and her throat felt like it was closing. "Anything. Tell me you feel the same or tell me you don't. I don't care which one; just say something."

Austin started babbling rapidly, telling her to speak up due to the fact that her silence was killing him. Ally stared at her, watching him talk. She felt her mouth twitch, like a smile wanted to curl onto her lips but she was still in so much shock about what he'd told her that her smile was second guessing itself.

_I love you, too. _Ally thought, before nodding her head and telling herself: _Good. Now just say that out loud. _"Austin."

"Ally, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to freak you out. I just need you to say some-"

"I love you."

"-thing. Anything. Just tell me-" That's when the wheels spun in Austin's head that she just told him she loved him. He looked at her quickly and then back to the road, to her, then to the road again.

"You...You what?" he questioned, laughing slightly out of disbelief. He was unable to realize what she'd just said. He was so busy trying to get her to say something so now that she did, he had no idea how to react. Where does this leave them? Are they together? Are they friends? Will this affect their songwriting? So many questions, such little time.

"You heard me," Ally widened her eyes. When did she grab the courage to spit something like that out?

"You do?" Austin responded, breathlessly. Ally nodded stiffly. She didn't know what to do. The only other man she told that she loved him and _meant it_ was her Dad. "Ok."

Ally looked at him, arching her eye brows. _OK?! _

"Ok?" she guessed, "You've been begging me to respond and I did and all you have to say is 'OK'?"

Austin swallowed hard. "Yeah."

Ally then stared forward, feeling so small. This was awkward for the both of them. They were okay knowing they liked each other, but they both just admitted they loved each other in a more-than-a-friend kind of way and it was a hard thing to sink in. "Ok." she replied. Austin smiled crookedly, glancing over at her then back to the road.

They didn't say anything more. They didn't even clarify what was going to happen next. They were content with knowing that they loved each other. That was all they needed to feel at the peace to end the car ride.

Austin was parked in front of Trish's house and the rain had gotten lighter. Ally opened the door and breathed in the fresh smell of rain. She slipped over the seat and saw it was soaking wet. "Sorry," she murmured. She was about to shrug off his jacket.

"Keep it," he told her. She looked up at him and saw his small smile. She gave him a small smile before nodding. She closed the door gently and slowly walked towards Trish's house. She glanced over her shoulder at Austin before looking forward again and letting herself inside.

Austin sat there for a couple moments, taking time to breathe before he pressed on the gas and drove himself home. He couldn't believe he did that. He didn't even mind that he didn't know where this lead them. He was just happy that she knew how he felt. That was all he needed to be able to sleep at night.

Ally was on the other side of the door, standing there, back pressed up against it. She could faintly hear the rain outside and she smiled slightly. She learned two things today: 1) Austin Moon is in love with her, and, 2) she now loved the rain.

Ally looked forward and saw Trish wasn't home. Ally didn't even change out of her wet clothes when she grabbed a notepad and a pen, sat down at the kitchen table and jotted down her feeling so fast that the pen had a hard time keeping up.

_There's something about the way_

_the street looks when it's just rained_

_there's a glow off the pavement,_

_you walk me to the car_

_and I want to ask you to dance right there_

_in the middle of the parking lot_

_yeah_

_we're driving down the road_

_I wonder if you know_

_I'm trying so hard_

_Not to get caught up now_

_But you're just so cool_

_Run your hands through your hair_

_Absentmindedly making me want you_

_And I don't know how it gets better than this,_

_You take my hand and drag me head first,_

_Fearless_

_And I don't know why but with you I'd dance_

_in a storm in my best dress_

_Fearless_

_So baby drive slow_

_Until we run out of road_

_In this one-horse town_

_I wanna stay right here_

_In this passenger seat_

_You put your eyes on me,_

_*Take your chance, it's now*_

_Capture it, Remember it_

_And I don't know how it gets better than this,_

_You take my hand and drag me head first,_

_Fearless_

_And I don't know why but with you I'd dance_

_in a storm in my best dress_

_Fearless_

_Well, you stood there with me in my doorway_

_My hands shake_

_I'm not usually this way but_

_You pull me in and I'm a little more brave_

_It's the first kiss, _

_it's flawless_

_Really something_

_It's fearless_

_'Cause I don't know how it gets better than this,_

_You take my hand and drag me head first_

_Fearless_

_And I don't know why but with you I'd dance_

_in a storm in my best dress_

_Fearless_

_'Cause I don't know how it gets better than this,_

_You take my hand and drag me head first_

_Fearless_

_And I don't know why but with you I'd dance_

_in a storm in my best dress_

_Fearless_


	15. Chapter 15 : Sweet Escape

7 days, eight hours, 31 minutes, and 4 seconds and Austin and Ally still hadn't discussed their relationship with one another. Two more songs had been written and things weren't even awkward between the two, but they both were curious as to where they stood. Ally waited for Austin to make his move and Austin waited for Ally to make hers. But if they were both waiting, who would actually make their move?

"I think we can start recording in a few days," Ally told her ex-partner, trying to fill a silence. Austin nodded his head.

"Yeah," he agreed.

"Austin, we should probably talk," Ally finally blurted, not looking up to meet his eyes so Austin figured that was a bad sign. His heart jumped into his throat. He tried to swallow it down.

"Um, Yeah," Austin said. Ally stared down at the piano keys in front of her. That's when she remembered something.

"Do you want to hear a song?" she questioned.

Confused, Austin looked at her with a raise brow, "Sure?" It was more than a question that a response but Ally took it anyways. She walked over to Austin's guitar which was sitting on the floor with music sheets and lyrics scattered around it.

She sat down on the floor, legs extended in front of her, and her back resting against the wall as she held the guitar pick in her fingers. "I wrote this song right after our fight," she murmured. Austin stared at her, drinking in this image of her about to play his guitar. "I went to L.A. and I did a lot of thinking. Then I sort of wrote this song. I actually almost forgot about it. I was going to play it for you and I never got the chance because I didn't have the courage to come back to Miami and play it for you. So, I'll just do it now."

Austin waited as Ally's fingers found the right chords and she started to play with an automatic catchy rhythm. She then began to sing.

_Oh, Oh, Oh_

_If I could be sweet_

_I would but first of all, let me say_

_I must apologize for acting stank_

_and treating you this way_

_because I've been acting like sour milk _

_thrown on the floor,_

_it's all your fault,_

_you didn't shut the refrigerator door_

_maybe that's the reason I've been acting so cold_

_If I could escape_

_and recreate a place that's my own world_

_and I could be your favourite girl_

_forever, perfectly together_

_Now tell me, boy, wouldn't that be sweet?_

_If I could be sweet_

_Sorry, but I know I've been a real bad girl_

_I didn't mean for you to get hurt_

_whatsoever_

_We can make it better_

_Now tell me, boy, wouldn't that be sweet?_

_Sweet Escape, Sweet Escape_

_You let me drown,_

_I'm at my lowest boiling point_

_Come help me out_

_I need to get me out of this joint_

_Come on, let's bounce_

_Counting on you to turn me around_

_Instead of clowning around,_

_Let's look for some common ground_

_Oh baby,_

_Time's been gettin' a little crazy,_

_I've been gettin' a little lazy_

_Waiting for you to come save me_

_I can see that you're angry_

_by the way that you treat me_

_Hopefully you don't leave me_

_I wanna take you with me_

_If I could escape_

_and recreate a place that's my own world,_

_I could be your favourite girl_

_Forever, perfectly together_

_Tell me, boy, wouldn't that be sweet?_

_If I could be sweet,_

_I'm sorry, but I didn't mean for you to get hurt_

_Whatsoever_

_We can make it better_

_now, tell me, boy, wouldn't that be sweet?_

_Sweet Escape._

_Oh, Oh, Oh_

Austin felt a grin curl on his lips as he clapped. Ally smiled slightly, putting the guitar down. "That's the song, Als." _Als. _Ally hated that nickname but it felt good when he said it.

"The song?" she questioned.

"Yes, the one that completes our album," he said.

She looked at him, gawking, "Really? You want it on the album?"

"I don't see why not," he replied, "It was great."

Ally looked at her hands, "Like I said, we should talk, Austin." Austin felt himself hold his breath as he waited for her to say anything more. "We should've talked about...last Saturday a while ago. We can't avoid it anymore."

"I know," Austin said, playing with the ring on his thumb.

"We both said something very imp-"

Ally was cut off by the ringing of Austin's phone. He glanced down at his phone and then back to her. "Uh, It's my Mom," he said, semi-awkwardly. She gestured for him to answer it, biting on her bottom lip. He sent her an apologetic smile as he put the receiver to his ear. "Mom," he answered.

"Austin Moon," his mother said to him on the other end. He was surprised by her tone. "You didn't come home for lunch like I specifically asked you to. Do you know how bad that looked? You're great grandmother was waiting to see you and you didn't even show up! How rude and irresponsible of you! You need to learn to stick to your word! How many times do I have to tell you-"

"Mom, Can we do this later?" he questioned, his voice hinting nervousness. He was still anxious about the conversation that he and Ally needed to have and his Mom was rudely interrupting. He glanced over to Ally and saw her picking at her old nail polish that was still stained to her manicured nails.

"Excuse me, Austin Monica Moon? Did you just brush me aside?" Mimi's voice raised in pitch, her voice trembling with anger.

"Mom, I'm trying to _talk_ to Ally," he finally blurted. Mimi was unable to understand the circumstances and shook her head although she knew her son couldn't see her.

"Ally can wait! You're in trouble! I didn't raise you to be unreliable! What are you going to turn into when you're married and have a family? Hm? Will you be an unreliable husband and father? Then when you have grandchildren - They won't even rely on you enough to call you Grandpa!" ranted Mimi.

"Mom, I'm nineteen, don't talk to me about my grandchildren," Austin snapped. Ally giggled from where she was sitting. Austin glanced at her. "Can you just give me a moment? Ally and I have something we need to talk about-"

"You two can talk about it here! Get your butt home!" Mimi demanded. She hung up the phone, providing no room for an argument. Austin sighed and hung up his phone.

"I'm sorry, Ally, I have to go. Mom's orders." he told her.

"You're not just saying that to avoid this, are you?" Ally questioned, standing up and crossing her arms. His eyes widened and he shook his head.

"No, Ally, I'm not-"

"We need to talk about this, Austin," Ally insisted. Austin sighed and nodded.

"Alright, then we'll have to discuss it at my place, because I'm ordered home," he told her. Ally stared at him and saw no lie in his eyes so she sighed and nodded. He smiled slightly at her and they left the practice room.

They'd made it to Austin's house half an hour ago. Austin was thankful that Ally came with him, because then he only had to deal with half of his Mother's rage. Mimi wasn't going to explode like she wanted to in front of Ally. It would be rude, as Mimi would say. Austin's great grandmother was still there, so finally he got to visit with her until she insisted she was tired and needed to go to bed.

Austin had led Ally up into his room. She sat on his bed, looking around the room. "Nothing's changed," she said.

"Actually, I got a new bedspread," he told her, pointing at the black comforter. Ally laughed slightly and nodded. He leaned against his wall. "You wanted to talk?"

"You don't?" she questioned him, "Because if you don't want this conversation, we don't need to have one."

Austin sighed, "I want to have the conversation, I'm just afraid of how it might end." he admitted to her. Ally nodded understandingly. She didn't say anything more and only looked around the room. Her eyes landed on his stack of CD's. He had two shelves - One strictly for music and the other strictly for movies. Her eyes landed on an album with her name on it in capital letters.

"Hey," she said softly, reaching out and grabbing it. Austin saw what she was doing and felt his face flush slightly. He cleared his throat and hoped his face was red like a cherry tomato. She eyed the album - _her _album. "You bought my album?"

"Uh," he laughed nervously, "Trish bought it for me."

"But you kept it. I mean...You listened to it?" Ally responded.

"You sound kind of surprised," he said.

"That's because I am. I was so sure that you wouldn't of even touched my music after what happened," she told him.

He was quiet for a moment before saying, "Trish did buy it. She bought three copies. One for all of us," he said making Ally giggle, "I was going to throw it away because I was angry with you, but I couldn't. I listened to it. I mean, it was your music. You worked hard to get to that point, I couldn't just not listen to what you had to say."

Ally looked up at him and grinned. She looked at the album again and then tucked the CD back into its place in the shelf. "You know, that album wouldn't have happened if not for you."

"What?" he said.

"Well, you're the one who encouraged me through my music and my writing. You're the one who helped me through my stage fright. You're the one who brought me out of my shell. I wouldn't be where I am without you." she told him. Austin smiled at her.

Finally, Austin grew the nerve and said, "About last Saturday...I meant everything I said to you."

Ally's eyes met his, "I did, too." That's when Austin realized she was still wearing his jacket.

He smiled slightly, "That's a good start, I guess," he murmured. Ally nodded, laughing gently. "But I don't know what else to say, Ally," he admitted, "I mean, I know what I want. I just don't know if it's what you want. If _we're _what you want."

Ally didn't hesitate this time when she blurted, "I think we should do it."

Austin smile faded as he looked at her. He hadn't expected that. In fact, he expected her to break his heart today but she didn't. She _made _his heart. He was sure that it had jumped from his chest and landed in her palms. She was holding it now and he didn't know if she was going to give it back.

"People always waste time," Ally said to him, "I don't want to waste time anymore. We did a lot of that when we were seventeen and that did nothing for us but drive us away from each other. If we know how we feel and we surely know what we want...Why should we wait? Austin, we should just do it."

Austin stared at her. His heart was jumping out of happiness and now unlike last Saturday, he was the one who didn't know what to say next. Ally stared at him, but she wasn't afraid. She knew he loved her; he'd told her that, she remembered.

"I wrote a song last week: Fearless." she said. Austin nodded, remembering that she'd sang it to him a few days ago.

Immediately he knew what she was getting at and they both said in unison: "_Take your chance, it's now."_

"Do we really want to waste time wondering about what could have been? I don't think we should wait. I don't want to always worry about the what-if's and the questions. I don't want to live my life curious about what we could have done, I want to do it; I want to experience it. For once, Austin, let's not be afraid of a you and me. Let's just do it before we miss our chance." Ally said.

It was silent for a long time before Austin said: "Let's do it."

All grinned up at him and Austin smiled at her. Ally felt her heart thumping. She'd always wondered if her heart was dead, because even when she was 'in love' with Dallas, he couldn't make her heart thump this hard, but Austin could. She didn't know how and she didn't why, but Austin was the only one who could make her feel alive.

Austin grabbed her hand and she stood up from the bed. She wrapped her arms around his neck, and his were around her waist. He brought her in tightly, loving the way her small frame fit so perfectly with his larger one. He slowly leaned his head down and within two seconds, their lips were molding into one another's.

He pulled away, "But, Ally, what about-"

"-I said no questions," she told him. He laughed slightly and felt her lips on his again. Their heartbeats were in unison, complying to one another's. Ally finally felt whole, like the missing piece of her was just found and screwed into her chest.

"I love you, Austin Monica Moon."

"I love you, Ally Dawson."

**THE END.**

**Finished.**

**Whoa.**

**It's over.**

** .Dun.**

**I hope I didn't disappoint anyone with this story. It was actually my first story that had strictly just auslly in it (Cause ya know my first story that I didn't have the decency to finish was mainly about Ally and her sister), so bare with me here and be easy on me. This was fun to write. Hope you liked it.**

**And Yes. There is an epilogue to this, so it's not TOTALLY over just yet! **


	16. Chapter 16 : Epilogue

Ally fixed her hair in the mirror and tugged on her dress, making sure it clung to her body in all the right places. She could hear the fans screams vibrating through the concrete walls; she was amazed. Ally's guts were twisting. She was always nervous before a performance, but she didn't let it stop her because she knew the second she'd walk onto that stage, the anxiety would deflate and would be replaced with joy.

She was handed a microphone as she made her way towards the stage. On her way over, she saw her best-friend and manager, Trish, standing alongside of her was Dez, Trish's red-headed boyfriend. Ally grinned at them and gave a finger-wiggling wave as she passed them with a swift stride. She was offered a thumbs up in return.

A few of the stage crew members walked beside her, guiding her towards the stage. She was taking a deep breath, making sure her breaths were slow so she didn't overwhelm herself. She accepted the gentle pat on her back from her Mom and the kiss on her forehead from her Dad.

"Everything will be great tonight, remember to smile!" her Mom coached and Ally nodded, letting a smile immediately curl onto her lips. She could hear the nearly-too-loud music boom through the arena. She stayed in her place by the stairs and heard the intro of the song and the sound of her boyfriend's voice echoing, causing the screams of millions to get louder.

She waited for a few minutes, feeling the vicious bubble of anxiousness erupt in her belly. It was time like these where she sometimes wished she never had to perform, but she also knew that she would be fine, so she did her best to ignore the anxiety.

Then there was her queue: She used fast and wide strides up the stairs, feeling the last minute touches of hands on her dress before she was on the huge platform where she joined her boyfriend of one year on that stage.

The crowd gives a loud cheer when the spotlight shows her appearance, Ally puts the microphone to her lips and lets her voice flow, echoing and booming as it collided with the fans who were singing the words right back to her,

"_We've been stuck now, so long, we just got the start wrong_

_One more last try, Imma get the ending right_

_You can't stop this, and I must insist_

_That you haven't had enough_

_You haven't had enough,"_

Ally's face immediately brightens when she catches a glimpse of her blonde boyfriend who joins into the chorus:

_"Stuck now, so long, we just got the start wrong_

_No more last place, you better get your story straight_

_You can't stop this, and I must insist_

_That you haven't had enough_

_You haven't had enough."_

Ally knew it was all nothing to be afraid of; something she's constantly reminding herself through every performance she does. Though, when she was by herself on stage, there was always a little bit of anxiety that she carried in her performances, but now there was nothing, not even a little bit because her boyfriend was performing with her.

Austin and Ally had let go of their solo careers and had now become an act together. Now vanished is the phrase: She writes and he rocks, now had come in the new phrase: She writes and _they _rock!

The world have gotten their wish of Austin and Ally getting together. They'd soon announced their relationship to the world six months ago; The night of their album release party. Their album had reached Number 1 on Billboards which was when they'd both decided that they were _Better Together. _They then grew the idea to perform every concert together, becoming one act together.

Austin moved to L.A with Ally, Trish and Dez following along. Austin told Ally it was because they would miss them, but Trish and Dez claim it was because Trish got a 'job transfer'. (Ya know, being Austin and Ally's manager and everything.)

As of right now, life was good; Austin and Ally were officially a couple, they had moved in together despite Lester's opinion that he'd rather Ally live alone, they were now a couple-act together with their first album selling 2.3 Million copies within the first two weeks of its release date, they had started up their own record label, and they were now on a World Tour together, living their biggest dream.

There was no worries about leaving Ally behind while Austin went on tour or vice versa, no worries about Ally living in L.A while Austin stayed in Miami, no worries about Ally's career or Austin's career because now they have one together, no worries about competing with one another's record labels. They didn't have to worry about a thing anymore, because they would always overcome any obstacle as long as they had each other.

And there would forever and always be an Austin and Ally!

**Well, there's the epilogue.**

**Did you enjoy it? It's short, I know. But it was an epilogue so I didn't want to drag it on, I only wanted to show how their lives had shaped and become. Anyways, thanks for reading it! I have written out a soundtrack for this story because I thought that would be a cool idea. (I'm sorry that there's a lot of Taylor Swift but a majority of her songs fit with the criteria of this story so..) P.S Some of the songs on the soundtrack were not included in the chapters.**

**My Sweet Escape: Soundtrack:**

**1. Cosmic Love by Florence and The Machine**

**2. Fall Back On You by Taylor Swift**

**3. The Last Time by Taylor Swift**

**4. The Story of Us by Taylor Swift**

**5. I Almost Do by Taylor Swift**

**6. Haven't Had Enough by Marianas Trench**

**7. Yellow by Coldplay**

**8. If I Can't Be With You by R5**

**9. Chocolate by The 1975**

**10. Starlight by Taylor Swift**

**11. Thinking Of You by Katy Perry**

**12. Baby, Don't You Break My Heart Slow by Taylor Swift**

**13. Dear John by Taylor Swift**

**14. Fearless by Taylor Swift**

**15. My Sweet Escape by Gwen Stafani**

**16. Dark Horse by Katy Perry**

**17. Pour Some Sugar On Me by Def Leppard**


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